


Counting Boys

by Petiite



Category: One Direction (Band), TiMER (2009)
Genre: Bottom Harry, Completed, M/M, TiMER AU, Top Louis, University AU, harry bottoms, louis tops, mainly fluff, some smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-01
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-03 04:47:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1065942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petiite/pseuds/Petiite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles has a blank TiMER. It's been blank as long as he can remember. Going to University was going to be his way of starting over, but he wasn't expecting to fall in love. Especially not with the blue-eyed boy whose TiMER is about to Zero out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

If a clock could count down to the exact moment you meet your soulmate, would you want to know? That's the claim of manufacturers of a new devices called, the TiMER. The next evolutionary step in computer matchmaking, the TiMER lets you know when your perfect match has entered your life. We discovered that all humans are on a path to true love, implanted just after the onset of puberty, and powered by body heat, the TiMER monitors level of oxytocin, the hormone of love. it zeros-out at midnight the night before, and then the next day it could go off at any second, and you get your soul mate. Are you tired of sitting around waiting for love? Your days of watching and wondering are over. Say goodbye to heartache and disappointment. Now you can be on the clock - true love on a schedule. Introducing TiMER, and revolutionary device that tells you not only who your soul mate is, but when you'll meet them. TiMER, take the guess work out of love.

\--TiMER (2009)

_Maybe it was always blank_ , I would convince myself. _I imagined the numbers in the first place._  But no, the official record showed 0002d:04h:12m:23s at installation.

I knocked lightly on the door that would become my dorm, swallowing nervously as I waited for it to open. Running a hand through my curly brown locks and nibbling on my lip, I ran through my head all the things that could go wrong. Wrong door? No, this matched my keys. He won’t like me. Well, that could still be possible.

My thoughts were interrupted by a tan face poking out of the room.

“H’lo?” a sleepy voice mumbled, and I took in what I saw. Black hair, slight scruff, brown eyes, and tattoos littered over a shirtless male. “Can I help you?”

“I’m uh, Harry. Your new roommate,” I stuttered, shifting my bag to reach forward and shake hands. “I’m sure the Dorm Head told you about me, they said they did…”

“Oh, yeah,” he stood back and opened the door further to let me in. Awkwardly letting my hand fall to my side, I grabbed all of my bags and waddled in. “I’m Zayn. I coulda sworn you weren’t gonna be here until 3, though.”

“It’s, uh, actually 3:15,” I chuckled, setting the suitcase on the unclaimed lower bed. “Did you stay up late last night or something?”

“Nah, I just sleep a lot,” he muttered, climbing up the ladder and falling back on the upper bed. “So, Harry, where ye from?”

“Cheshire,” I replied, carefully unpacking my jumpers into the barren dresser, organizing them by color. “Holmes Chapel, actually. What about you?”

“No, shh,” he whispered, and I could tell he was almost unconscious. “Keep talking. Deep voices make me tired. Tell me your life story.”

Letting out a laugh as I refolded a pair of skinnies, I shook my head and knew that I was going to like this boy. “How about I just sing you a lullaby? That’d be faster.”

“Only if you aren’t one of those rap-oh-I’m-so-good-at-what-I-do arseholes,” he responded, earning another laugh.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m not the best but I’ll do what I can.” After setting down the jeans I had started to unpack, I got up on the ladder and tucked him in (which he promptly kicked off), before singing a soft tune.

I continued as I turned and sat on the ladder, laying my head back and closing my eyes.  _Maybe I can make real friends here._

\----

Quickly blinking my eyes open, I noticed the room had become pitch black. I gripped the sides of the ladder, descending as fast as I could to click the light on. As soon as I had done so, I heard a loud groan of annoyance from the upper bunk.

“Jesus, new kid. Warn a pal,” he said, with a joking tone overlaid, but I couldn’t be completely sure. “What time is it?”

“I, uh, let me check,” I fumbled, reaching for the clock I had unpacked earlier. “Seven thirty.”

“Awe, that’s just bloody brilliant!” Zayn, suddenly seeming pissed off, threw himself down the ladder and raced to the closet door. “I got a study group in half an hour, fack!”

“Wait, but, classes haven’t started yet,” furrowing my brows, I looked to him for an answer, but he seemed too interested in the clothing he was- and I shudder- throwing around. “Why a study group already?”

“I just need to look good! there’s someone there I fa--” he cut himself off, glowering around the corner at me. “I don’t even know you. Why should I explain myself to you?”

 _Great_. “I’ll, uh, help you look good if you explain?” A hopeful smile spread across my face. “I took a course in fashion design during Sixth Form if that helps?”

His face seemed to light up. “Are you any good at hair care?”

“Not especially.”

“That’s okay, I can do that, I guess,” the brunette said as he waved me over quickly. “I really want to wear this hat, he compliments me on it every time I wear it,” he said, handing me a black snapback with a vintage flower print on it. The bill was beige on the top, with a olive green underneath, tying into the flower print quite beautifully.

“Okay, well, let’s put you in these black skinnies,” I grinned, thankful that he was opening up. “How about this white tee?”

“Even with the green sleeves?” he asked, holding it up to his chest and furrowing his brow. “Are you sure? Won’t that look weird?”

“The hat has green on the underside of the bill, so it’ll pull the outfit together,” I said while pulling out a plain black letterman’s jacket. “It’s cold, so wear this on top. Black is a staple and can be used several times in a single outfit.”

“Thanks so much, mate,” He grinned, wrapping an arm around me for a side-hug before turning to go change. “My shoes are there if you want to help further!”

“Just remember, I get to learn about the mystery guy!”

He froze, turning to look over his shoulder. “Guy?”

“Uh, you, uh, said ‘he’ earlier,” I stuttered, afraid that I heard wrong and I was wrong and that he was going to hate me.

“And.. you’re okay with me fancying guys?” Zayn eyed me over, squinting a little in confusion.

“It’d be hypocritical if I didn’t, yeah?” Grinning, I leaned over the boots he had thrown around his closet floor. “Get changed and then tell me about him!”

“His name’s Liam, and I think he’s my one!” He beamed, dropping his pyjamas and replacing them with his skinnies. “I zeroed out last night, but I’ve been trying to keep it secret so no one would pester me,” the brunette sat down in front of his desk after pulling on the shirt, pulling forward a jar of hair wax.

“Yeah? Happy Zero,” I grinned, squeezing a shoulder before dropping a pair of combat boots by his side. “D’you think he’s your soulmate?”

“God I hope so,” he whined, pushing the product through his hair and forming into a stylish quiff. “No offense, but I’m glad it’s not you. I’ve had a crush on this bloke for ages.”

Through a slightly sorrowful grin, I managed to answer, “No offense taken. Good luck tonight.”

“Wanna come? You can meet some people, get to know the campus better, it’d be good for you!” Zayn spun on his chair, grabbing at my shirt a little. “Although you’re gonna have to change. I can’t be seen with a crazy cat lady jumper, even if it’s on someone else.”

I almost fell over with how hard I was laughing, but I managed to take off the top and replace it with a plain cream one, earning an approving noise.

\----

Before long, we were walking down the hall of the dorm, Zayn slightly stressing about everything. He kept his eyes down while I led him, purposefully not making eye contact with anyone. He knew, as we all learn when we receive our TiMERs during puberty, that only when we look eye-to-eye with our soul mate does our TiMER go off.

“So, uh, Harry,” he said, carefully taking the stairs, “How long until your timer goes off?”

I raised my wrist hesitantly, biting my lip in thought. “It’s, uh, I’m not comfortable sharing my story, to be honest.”

His hand tightened around my wrist, causing me to stop and look at him. “I know we literally just met, but we’re gonna be stuck together for the rest of the year. I’m not gonna pressure you into anything, mate, but I want you to know that I’m not going to tell anyone your secrets.” His cheek twitched with the slight of a smile, before he took down the stairs in front of me.

I laughed, chasing him with a grin on my lips. _Yeah, maybe this was good for me_. Hot on his tail, I followed him in a slight run out into the cold night air. Feeling the slight drizzle coat my face and neck, I slowed down and called after him. He stopped a few feet ahead of me, turning and catching his breath.

“Hey, Zayn,” Another voice cut through our panting, catching our attention and making us turn.

Without even knowing who it was, I could feel the tension in the air as a loud, chiming pattern rung out.

Zayn quickly lifted his sleeve, checking his TiMER to silence the alarm, and the other boy seemed to shocked to move. I held my breath, almost scared to see how they were going to interact.

It was silent for a long time, with them just staring at each other. The new boy opened his mouth several times, but failing to make words every time.

“Liam,” the tanned boy breathed, lowering his sleeve and reaching for the other. “Liam, are you-”

He was cut off by lips meeting his as the newcomer- Liam- kissed him. Hard.

I coughed loudly, trying to let them know I was still here and I was still watching. When neither pulled away, I said, “Guys, seriously, Zayn, please, come on,” but to no avail. “I’m, uh, just going back to the dorm then,” I mumbled, biting my lip and thanking the heavens that I grabbed my keys.

It was quiet in the dorms as I slowly shuffled through the hall, unlocking the door and slowly closing it behind me. Eyeing Zayn’s mess, I shrugged and started organizing the room.

\----

What felt like five hours later, I had finished not only unpacking my bags and hiding them under the bed, but cleaning Zayn’s closet and making his bed to a higher standard. I laid back on my bed, texting Gemma and Mum about my eventful day, excluding names(I wasn’t sure, after all, if Zayn was open about his sexuality, although, thinking about it, he was going to have to be after zeroing out with a guy).

Checking the clock on the desk, I noted it had only been around an hour, but I really was too tired to care. Grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste, I headed down the hall to where I had seen the restroom when I came in.

Thankful that it was empty, I leaned over the sink and splashed water on my face to clean it. While brushing my teeth I leaned against the wall and prayed quietly that I would someday find a soulmate like those two. I knew that, unfortunately, it would never happen.

I pulled down my sleeve and eyed the blank TiMER on my wrist.

\----d:--h:--m:--s

It had been like that for as long as I could remember, although I knew that was a lie. There had been numbers there once. The first day of high school, there had been numbers there.

 

And then there weren’t.

 


	2. Chapter 2

I wiped my eyes, covering my entire hands with the jumper and grabbing my toothbrush. Okay, maybe having a breakdown in the bathroom on the first day in the dorms wasn’t the best, but Zayn would be back soon. Then I would tell him. I swear, I would.

Quickly opening the door and stepping out, I found myself running into a smaller boy, causing him to stumble and fall backwards. I shot my hands out and caught him around the waist, muttering a small “oops!”

He grabbed desperately onto my sleeve, using me to help him straighten up. “Hi,” he laughed, his eyes crinkling and  _wow_  if they weren’t the most gorgeous blue I had ever seen. “You sure swept me off my feet,” he teased, his sinfully pink lips spreading into a grin. “What’s your name, Curly?”

“I’m, uh, er, Harry,” I breathed, reluctantly letting him go as his hand slid to his side. “I’m, uh, new,”

“Are you always this good with words, or is this a sleepy sort of thing?” he laughed, pushing by me with his own toothbrush and toothpaste, and a bottle of some sort of face wash. “I’m Louis. Nice to meet you, Curly,” he brushed his caramel bangs out of his eyes and smiled once more. “Hey, have you seen my roommate? He was supposed to be back from his study group half an hour ago.”

I snorted. “Liam?”

“How’d you know?”

“He’s with my roommate,” I laughed, before covering my mouth. Crap, I did not just out someone.

“So Zayn was his One?” Louis grinned, his face looking like it was about to break with how far his mouth was stretching. “I knew it! I absolutely told him and there is no way he’s going to live this down!”

Letting out one more laugh and opening the bathroom door again, I addressed the boy at the sink. “Yeah, well, tell him to bring my roommate home soon. I haven’t gotten a chance to get Zayn’s number yet, and I probably need it.”

“Will do,” he was muffled by the toothbrush but I could still hear the happiness in his voice. “Later, curly.”

With a wave, I was out the door and down the hall, biting my lip to keep the smile under control. I went into my room, and flopped down on the bed while releasing the beaming grin. My heart was beating loudly, and damn if I hadn’t felt like this in a long time.

“What’s with you down there?” Zayn’s voice broke my thought, causing me to roll over and giggle into a pillow. “I swear you weren’t that happy when you left earlier.”

“I met someone,” I mumbled into the fabric, unsure if he could hear me. “There was this really cute guy in the bathroom and wow he was cute.” Remembering all the little things about him, like his caramel fringe that lightly dusted his forehead and the blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled, caused me to roll over with the pillow over my face.

“Yeah?” the brunette teased, climbing down and laying in my bunk. “It’s a good day for the both of us, yeah?”

“God wow, he was cute,” Poking out from the pillow, I caught the fond look on Zayn’s face before it turned into a look of mockery.

“Okay, so what’s the cute boy’s name, or did you not think to ask?” He rolled his eyes, playing with a curly lock of mine.

“Louis,” I breathed, enjoying the way it sounded and _maybe_  I was overly smitten for a minute long conversation.

Zayn laid back and groaned. “Not Louis Tomlinson, right?” he pleaded. “Please tell me you don’t mean Louis. Like, Liam’s roommate.”

“Should I not like him?”

“Harry, he’s- ugh, how do I explain this?” He rolled on his side to face me. “I’m not gonna make you hate him. But promise me- right now- that you’re going to get to know him before anything happens. No snogging, no shagging, nothing. Not until you get to know him.” He furrowed his brow. When I nodded a promise, Zayn wrapped his arm around me and sighed. “Why do they always fall for him?”

“Who always falls for Louis?” I whispered, blinking away tears that probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“You’re my fourth roommate in two years,” he replied, curling my hair around his finger. “The other three have, almost exactly, met Louis, fallen for him, had sex with him, had their hearts broken, and transferred to another dorm. It’s like clockwork.”

Speechless, I just scooted closer. “Thanks for warning me,” were the last words that we said, echoing in the darkness of the room.

\----

The morning came too soon for either of us, and maybe it was a little weird that we had spent the night in the same bed after meeting each other just a few hours previous. We didn’t seem to care, as I got up to use the shower and he took an extra fifteen minute rest during.

Coming back into the room was when everything went wrong.

After pulling up a pair of boxer-briefs, I dropped my towel and immediately placed it in the laundry bin, before turning to wake Zayn up. I shook his shoulder lightly, whispering his name. He grabbed my wrist in an effort to stop me, and opened one eye.

That was when he saw it. He immediately sat up, both eyes on my TiMER at this point. I watched in horror as he raised his wrist to mine, obviously comparing them.

“Why is it blank?” he whispered, turning to look at me. Immediately pulling my arm back, I covered my wrist with my other hand, stuttering incoherently. “Harry,” Zayn said, standing up and setting his hand on my shoulder. “Harry, mine is all zeroes. Before that, it had numbers. Why is yours dashes?”

Tears stung my eyes, and I tried as hard as I could to hold them back. “I don’t have a soulmate,” I smiled, although it was fake and we could both tell. “He died.”

Before I knew what was happening, Zayn had his arms around me and was holding me close to his chest. “Oh Harry,” he mumbled, stroking my hair. “Tell me how.”

I swallowed, before pushing him away to sit on the bed. “Well, uh, I got my TiMER the first week of high school, like everyone else. It said I had two days left, and then the next morning it had these dashes-” I lifted my wrist to show him again, “-and when my mom called the MatchMakers™, they told us that my soul mate committed suicide.”

“What?!” the tanned boy exclaimed, sitting next to me with an arm around my shoulder. “Why?”

“The note he left said that he didn’t want his life chosen for him,” shrugging, I reluctantly let a tear roll down my face before wiping it on my hand. “But he ended up choosing mine.”

“Oh Harry,” Zayn whispered, wiping my eye and hugging me. “You know you’re not alone anymore. I don’t get this close to people this fast, like ever, so I’m never going to let you go, okay?” I shook and buried my face into his shoulder. “I think it was fate that you were my roommate on my zero day. They do say you meet important people then, yeah? And even if you never have your zero day, I’m sure you’ll find someone and they’ll love you more than anything.”

At this point I was sobbing, gripping onto his bare chest and arms. He was rubbing my back and rocking back and forth, promising that everything would be okay.

A knock on the door brought my attention back to the now, as compared to the worthless thoughts going through my head about how I’d always be alone.

“Come in,” Zayn called, lifting me up and setting me on his lap protectively.

“Hey, Zayn?” came a voice that I remembered from the night previous. “I was wondering if you- is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Liam, can we talk later?” the tanned boy asked, and I could feel him gesture towards me.

I turned to look at the new boy and found myself staring at a young boy with brown puppydog eyes. He was looking at me with worry, and I reached for him. I don’t know what it was, but he was motherly. He felt motherly. He even kinda looked motherly. And I needed motherly.

He took that as an invitation to sit next to us, and his hand rubbed my back softly. Zayn let out a small chuckle and entwined his fingers around my waist before falling backwards, causing us to lay on the mattress. Liam followed suit, before rolling onto his side and tracing circles on my shoulder.

“So, uh, I don’t really know you, or whatever, but I really hope that I can help,” the puppy-dog boy whispered into the silence, wrapping a blanket around us. “You don’t have to tell me what happened or anything, but, I, uh, you can tell me anything. Really. Right, I’m uh, Liam.”

I rolled off of Zayn and ended up facing Liam, snuggling into his chest for comfort. “Harry,” I murmured into his skin.

With Zayn spooning me and Liam in front of me, we laid in silence for a little while longer, before I sat up and wiped my face.

“Feel better?” Zayn mumbled, propping himself up on his elbows.

“yeah, I’m just gonna go wash my face in the bathroom,” I mumbled, standing up from the bed and grabbing a washcloth. “You two talk or something, you can tell Liam about my sorry situation.”

Before either of them could answer, I left the room and rushed to the bathroom. I opened the door, went over to a sink, and started the cold water. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was ashamed of my face. My eyes were red and puffy, with my nose slightly runny and also tinted with redness. I wet the towel, wrung it out, and covered my face with it.

“Hey Curly,” a voice came from behind me. Rolling my eyes behind the towel, I cursed timing.

“Hiya Louis,” I mumbled, but it came out incoherently through the muffle of the washcloth.

“What’s up with the towel?” He asked, starting the other sink. As I let it drop, I heard him gasp slightly, muffled. “Mh mhamby!”

I turned to look at him as he reached for my face, brushing his fingertips along my cheek. A small smile tugged at my lips as I noticed the toothbrush in his mouth.

“Finish brushing your teeth, Louis,” I whispered, taking his hand in mine and squeezing once.

He quickly did so, spitting out into the sink and washing his face. “What happened? Why were you crying?” the caramel-haired boy asked.

“Long story, really, it’s no big deal.” I covered my wrist with the washcloth, remembering about my TiMER being in the open. “Just a little homesickness.”

“First time away from home?” he grinned, leaning against the wall. “Ask Liam to be your mommy, he’ll do it.”

I laughed, wiping my face with the cold water once more. “I got that. He came in while I was kinda in the middle of it, and like, started cuddling me.”

“Did he really?” Louis laughed with me, and wow if that wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. “And Zayn can be your daddy,” he suggested, earning a chuckle out of me.

“I should get back and make sure that ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ aren’t shagging on my bunk,” I teased, tossing my towel in the laundry bin and reaching for the door.

“Yeah, well, let me know if I get to see trouser-less Curly again. I’ll come running,” he winked, turning and heading for the shower.

With my face a bright pink, I found myself strolling into my dorm room, closing the door behind me, and letting out a long, happy sigh. Completely forgetting, of course, that Liam and Zayn were both in the room.

“What’s with that?” The puppy-dog eyed boy wondered, catching my attention.

“Harry’s got a dumb little crush on your roommate,” Zayn teased, wrapping his arms around his new boyfriend. “Met him last night in the bathroom.”

“Oh,” he started, before his eyes widened, obviously remembering something. “Oh, so  _you’re_  Curly!” Liam grinned, leaning forward. “Lou talked about you for literally an hour last night.”

I felt my entire face light up, and I bit my lip with a mix of excitement and doubt. “Yeah? About what?”

“He kept talking about this ‘cute, curly haired boy who literally swept him off his feet in the bathroom’ and how he would ‘love to see him again’. It was really cute,” the brown-haired boy cooed, pressing a small kiss into Zayn’s cheek.

“Yeah, yeah,” the tanned boy rolled his eyes. “I’m not comfortable with him going after another one of my roommates.”

“He’s never raved about someone like this before,” Liam shrugged, patting his boyfriend’s knee. “Get dressed Harry, we’re going out to breakfast. We’ll introduce you to some friends of ours.”

I nodded, moving from the door and pulling out an over-sized jumper (with a pattern that Zayn had approved), a pair of black skinnies, and a winter coat.

“You too, Zayn. You get dressed too,” he teased, pushing the black-haired boy up off the bed. “We’re meeting Niall, Josh, and one of their friends in twenty minutes downtown.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, grabbing a towel. “We’ll be ten minutes late. I’m going to go shower quickly.” He blew a kiss to Liam and left the room.

“So, if you two knew each other,” I wondered aloud, pulling on my top. “Then how come your TiMERs only went off last night?”

“We, uh, had never really met or talked before,” Liam blushed, scratching the back of his head. “We had a class together but we were always really shy. We talked online about starting a study group or whatever, and he finally made a time, and we looked at each other for the first time and wow.”

“I was there when it went off, yeah,” sitting down next to him to pull up my jeans. “I felt really happy for you guys, although I was slightly heartbroken.” He rubbed my back, but I waved him off. “It’s fine, really. I’m really glad you and Zayn are together, y’know? I’ve known him for a day but he was super flustered about looking nice for you.”

“Was he really?” his puppy-dog eyes crinkled as he blushed heavily. “God, I was doing the same thing. Louis helped me pick out an outfit, just in case.”

“And I picked out Zayn’s!”

“It looked really good,” he laughed, tracing a heart on my back. I smiled at him softly, earning a smile in return. “Thanks, Harry,” Liam whispered, leaning into me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “I’m glad you’re Zayn’s roommate.”

“Me too,” I chuckled, leaning against him. “You guys are literally the nicest people I could’ve ever met.”

“Just wait until you get to know us a little better,” he grinned, squeezing my shoulder. “You’ll get sick of us.”

“So, uh, did Louis really say all that stuff about me?”

\----

After a long conflict with Zayn trying to find his favorite shirt (a plain black cable jumper) and Liam trying to convince him he’d look good in anything, we were finally leaving the dorm and getting into Zayn’s car. We were almost ten minutes late to the set meeting, and when we arrived, there were three guys standing outside of a cafe and talking.

“Come on Harry, we’re really late,” Zayn remarked, turning off the car and getting out.

“Oh, they brought Nick,” Liam noted, adjusting his hat as he got out also. Following suit, my eyes landed on a familiar face standing in the group.

“Hey, wait a moment,” I mumbled, closing the door and jogging over. “Grimmy?”

A tall man turned to look at me, with his curly hair styled upwards into a quiff. His face turned upwards into a smile, and he exclaimed, “Harry! Oh my god!”

Zayn and Liam both looked at me like I was an alien, while the other boys were looking at Nick like he’s gone nuts. I wrapped my arms around him as soon as I reached him, and he returned the hug tightly.

“What are you doing in my neck of the woods?” He laughed, brushing the hair out of my face and kissing my forehead sloppily.

“I’m up at the University of London, I’m actually rooming with Zayn there,” I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck and swinging back and forth.

“Jesus, you should come hit me up sometime! I’ll show you a real good time now that you’re legal,” he teased, winking at me.

“So, how do you two know each other?” A very accented Irish voice asked, breaking through our own private conversation.

“He was my babysitter when I was in primary,” I laughed, letting go of him and facing the rest of the group.

“I’m Niall,” the blond one, who was obviously Irish, grinned. “Oh, and this is Josh,” he gestured towards the other one.

“I’m Ha-” I started, but was cut off by Nick covering my mouth to interrupt.

“Call him Hazza!” He grinned, taking his hands off of my face and slipping them around my waist before throwing me over his shoulder. “God, have you gained any weight since you were fourteen?”

My face turned bright pink, and I started punching his back playfully. “Put me down you- you-” Nick sighed loudly and flopped me on the ground, where I so gracefully fell on my ass. “Ow, you prick!”

“You two are ridiculous,” Zayn rolled his eyes, helping me up. “I had no idea you two knew each other.”

“I thought he was going to Canterbury!” the tallest grinned, fluffing my hair.

“Yeah, well, I got a better offer here.”

“So, Hazza, was it?” Josh interrupted, gesturing towards the cafe doors. “Come on, let’s go inside, we can get to know all about you.”

Nick’s arm was wrapped around my waist tightly as we entered, although we were both talking to other people; Niall and I were chattering on about some restaurant he was playing at, while Nick and Liam were laughing about a movie.

“Hey, welcome to Star Shine Cafe- Liam!” came from the host pedestal, and as I turned to look, I saw Louis grinning at the group. “Is this like a surprise inspection or something?”

“I totally forgot you worked here,” the boy with puppy-dog eyes confessed, smacking his forehead. “We’re, uh, having breakfast with some friends.”

“Yeah, I can tell; hey Nialler, it’s been a while. How are you?”

“Louis!” the irishman exclaimed, throwing his arms around our waiter. “You look so dashing in that uniform!”

“Okay, get off me before my manager sees,” the caramel-haired boy laughed, and I realized I was staring. It wasn’t hard to see why- his blue eyes crinkled when he smiled and his cheeks were rosy from work(it was warm inside the Cafe). He looked like a painting, painted in pastels with a touch of vibrant. “Curly,” Louis breathed, beaming at me. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I repeated, watching him get introduced to Josh, who he had apparently never met before.

“Hello there, Tomlinson,” Nick sneered, digging his fingers into my waist. “You haven’t grown at all, have you?”

Louis’ face fell. “Let me take you to your table,” he stated, before grabbing menus and walking off. Glancing up at my friend, I noticed the hostility brewing in his face. “Here you go. I’ll be back shortly to take your orders,” the blue-eyed boy, whose eyes seemed to have lost their glimmer, retreated to the front, greeting a couple and taking them to a window table.

“What was that?” I marveled, scooting into our booth between Nick and Niall. Grimmy’s hand left my waist as he reached for the menus.

“We don’t get along,” he shrugged, as if it was the easiest, most obvious thing in the world. “Fought a lot during my senior year of Uni.”

“You  _outed_  him to the entire Football team,” Liam complained, raising his eyebrows in disgust. “You made his first year hell.”

“Yeah, well, he stole my boyfriend. Twice,” Grimmy retorted, setting down his menu and leaning back. “You’d think people would know, with how flamboyant he was. I’m getting the cinnamon roll. Wanna split, Haz?”

“Yeah, sure,” I shrugged, setting my menu on his and leaning over the table. “So Josh, what do you do?”

“I’m a drummer,” he beamed, obviously passionate about his work. “Currently I’m looking around for bandmates, but Niall’s the only one willing to work with me.”

“Trust me, we’re pretty good as is,” the irishman smirked, putting his menu down as well. “But we could use a bassist, maybe.”

“Don’t look at me,” Laughing, I fell back and found Nick’s arm around my shoulders. “I can’t play any instruments. Well, save for the kazoo, but that doesn’t really work for performances and whatnot.”

The conversation drifted into something about classes, then onto some podcast that I had never heard about but Nick was really passionate about (I made a few promises to listen), and finally to Liam and Zayn zeroing out with each other.

“God, you guys are perfect together,” Niall sighed, leaning on one hand. “I have another four years before I clock out.”

“I have until I’m 47, Ni,” Grimmy rolled his eyes, lifting his wrist. “That’s 23 years. It could be worse.”

“Like not having a soulmate,” Josh suggested, although his timer read just under a thousand days. “There are people whose TiMERs are constantly blank.”

Zayn’s eyes flickered to me but I just shrugged. “They’re lucky, aren’t they? They get to fall in love for themselves, over and over,” I added, feeling the hand around my shoulder rub my arm comfortingly.

“Are you guys ready to order?” Louis interrupted, a fake smile plastered on his face.

“I’ll take the omelette, plus the hotcakes, and a side order of hash browns,” Niall grinned, pleased with himself despite the snide remarks about his appetite.

“We’ll split a cinnamon roll,” Nick purred, pulling me closer to him, before whispering in my ear (just loud enough for the others to hear), “My treat.” I blushed, catching Louis’ scowl in my peripheral vision.

The rest quickly gave their orders, Liam muttering a quiet “ _sorry_ ” before the caramel-haired boy left.

“God, he gets really uncomfortable when I touch you,” Grimmy chuckled, letting his hand fall down my back.

“Well, you’re kinda his biggest enemy,” the irishman furrowed his brows, “and you’re flirting with his roommate’s boyfriend’s roommate.”

“Why does it matter to him?” the drummer wondered aloud, leaning over the table in a stretch. “It’s not like Louis and Hazza have anything going on, right?”

Zayn grinned and turned to look at Liam. “Right,” they said at the same time, smirking at each other.

“We’ve met twice,” I rolled my eyes, eager to clear this messed up situation. “Both times in the bathroom.”

“Pretty shitty,” Nick joked, curling a finger in my hair. “And I’m not flirting with Haz. I babysat him for so long it would feel like incest or somethin’.” 

Nodding in agreement, I grinned at the boys. “While I’m thinking about it, let me get your numbers. Just in case.”


	3. Chapter 3

Almost two hours later, filled with talking, laughing, Niall ordering seconds, then thirds, then a dessert, and promises to meet up later, we split into our respective cars and left.

“That was fun,” Liam stated as Zayn pulled out onto the road. “I would’ve never guessed you knew Nick.”

“I totally forgot he was up here,” I shrugged, watching the cafe through the window. My mind was racing with LouisLouisLouis, but I was too afraid to mention him. “And Niall and Josh were really nice! I can tell I’m going to get along with them.”

“You and Nialler have a class together, right?” the black-haired man asked, signalling a turn onto campus. “Bring him over after class and we’ll play FIFA or something.”

“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” I replied distractedly, pulling out my phone to shoot a text to Grimmy.

**To: Grimmy**

**Hey, today was fun. xx**

“C’mon Harry, we’re here,” Liam said, getting out of the car and waiting for me. “Are you already texting him? Jeez, if I didn’t know better I’d think you two were dating.”

“Well, he did buy him food,” Zayn shrugged, lighting a cigarette and leaning on the car as I got out. “That’s a boyfriend thing to do.”

“Yeah, if you’re Niall,” I snarked, feeling my phone buzz.

**From: Grimmy**

**Yah, we shld anny Tomlinson agn smtm x**

Rolling my eyes and following them up into the dorm, I thought about what to say. If I mentioned my crush for Louis, what would Nick do? Without a chance to chicken out, I quickly texted him:

**To: Grimmy**

**yeah, if it means I get to make out with him. xx**

Well. It wasn’t the best way to confess. It probably wasn’t a good way to confess at all. Mediocre is probably pushing it.

“We’re, uh, going to hang out in my room,” Liam blushed, gesturing between him and Zayn. “We’ll see you later?”

A grin crossed my face. “Use a rubber.”

They both turned a proper shade of pink, before turning and almost rushing down the hall. I laughed to myself while unlocking the door, letting myself into my dorm. Another buzz let me know that I had a text, although I was slightly dreading the answer.

**From: Grimmy**

**O sht haz im srry i ddnt rlize**

and then another:

**From: Grimmy**

**u dsrv bttr thn him bt i spprt it**

Sitting down on my mattress, I quickly drafted a reply.

**To: Grimmy**

**better? My TiMER is broken. I take what I can get xx**

Although it hurt to admit, I knew that, with a broken TiMER, I had a limited selection. Most everyone in this world is partnered; those without partners have a chance, as every single day, new TiMERs are being installed. I could only get broken ones.

**From: Grimmy**

**try a cgull instd. ull b hppir x**

I laughed loudly, falling backwards on the bed and holding my phone up.

**To: Grimmy**

**A seagull? Excuse me, I don’t share your weird fetishes! xx**

Sitting up, I decided to get ready for classes, as they were starting the next day. As I was about to move, my phone buzzed again.

**From: Grimmy**

**im jst sayng tht nythng is bttr thn Tommo x**

I rolled my eyes, throwing back a quick response:

**To: Grimmy**

**You’re a jerk xx**

Before standing up, I tossed my phone onto my desk. Then I started shuffling around my bookcase, grabbing out all the Intro to books I had. My class schedule was pinned to the wall above my desk, organized carefully as to have breaks between the hardest classes. The desk made an obnoxiously loud noise as the phone vibrated against it, making me quickly pick it up to shut it off.

**From: Grimmy**

**Ya bt u <3 me xo mwah lv u bby**

Sighing playfully, I turned on some music (Enya’s Greatest Hits) while thinking of how to respond.

**To: Grimmy**

**Shouldn’t you be at work? Freak <3 xx**

\-----

The clock read 8:30, and I was ready for bed. I set my book on my desk, bookmarking the page and grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste. Zayn had popped over earlier to say he was sleeping in Liam’s bed tonight, so I was free to fall asleep whenever.

As I entered the bathroom, I saw Louis already at the sink, washing his face.

“Hey,” I beamed, my heart beating rapidly just seeing him. Setting my stuff at the sink next to his, I tried to act as normal as I could with my stomach tied in knots.

“Fuck off,” he said weakly, splashing water on his face. My heart stopped for a split second as I turned to look at him. “I don’t need you terrorizing me like your boyfriend.”

I felt like crying, right then and there. “Grimmy’s not my boyfriend,” I replied, gripping the sink to keep from shaking. “We aren’t anything. Just friends. I’m not even interested in him.”

“I saw how you two were hanging off each other, and I’m not dumb,” he snapped, his fringe sticking to his damp forehead as he wiped his face with a washcloth. “That guy is a monster, Curly. He’s a life-ruining asshole.”

“I know he outed you,” came weakly, and it took me a moment to realize it was my own voice. Turning to face to sink, I continued, “but aren’t you happy that you can live as yourself, instead of the closeted, fake you?”

There was silence for a long time, and I clamped my eyes closed to keep from looking at him. His faucet was still running, which is the only way I knew he hadn’t left. Blindly, I grabbed my stuff, turned, and stormed down the hall for my dorm. With my vision slightly blurred from tears, I was extra careful not to hit any of Zayn’s things on the way in. The door slammed behind me, shocking me at my own strength. I grabbed my phone and shot Nick a text.

**To: Grimmy**

**Louis thought I was dating you and he swore at me and called you a monster and I’m in bed crying and help :( xx**

I threw myself at my mattress, covering my head with a pillow and crying quietly. My ringtone went off, alerting me of a phone call. Knowing it was Grimmy, I picked up.

“Hullo?” I sniffled, knocking the pillow away.

“ _Harry, you sound so pathetic!_ ”

“Great to hear from you too.”

“ _This is all my fault, I’m really sorry_ ,” he apologized, his voice sounding strained on the other side of the phone. “ _I wish I could make it all better, y’know? How do I do that?_ ”

Forgetting he couldn’t see me, I shrugged, then rolled my eyes at how stupid I was. “I don’t know, Grims. I really don’t.”

“ _I could call Tomlinson and apologize._ ”

“Why do you have his number?” I furrowed my brows, rolling over and wrapping myself in my comforter. “Also, apologize for what?”

The grin in his voice was too apparent. “ _Stealing his man_.”

“Nick…”

“ _Harry, he fancies you! We hate each other and I could still tell,_ ” He groaned. “ _It’s so obvious. He got upset when I held you, and then he got really angry when he thought I was your boyfriend! If that’s not signs of a crush, I don’t know what is!_ ”

“Please don’t get my hopes up,” I whispered, choking back more tears.

“ _Look, Harry, the point is- is that Enya in the background_?”

“Uhh…”

“ _You literally have not changed since you were ten, have you_?”

A knock on the door made me sit up. “Gotta go. I’ll text you in a little while, kay? Loveyoubye,” I mumbled while hanging up. Addressing the door, I called, “Come in?”

The door opened a bit and Louis popped his head in. “Hey,” he muttered. “Can we talk?”

“uh.. uh, yeah,” I nodded, covering myself in blankets. “Yeah, you can come sit by me if you want.”

He closed the door and stepped over to the mattress, sitting down next to me. At this distance, I could see the dried tear track gracing his cheek, making my stomach tighten in a way I couldn’t explain. He was wearing a large jumper with the sleeves rolled up, exposing a few tattoos that I tried not to focus on. “Listen, Curly,” he started, playing with his fingers distractedly. “I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. It’s just, Grimshaw has actively ruined things for me.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” I whispered, watching his hands.

“I just didn’t want him to ruin you for me,” he confessed, and my eyes shot to his face. “I think you’re really brilliant, and I want to get to know you better.” I scanned his face for any signs of deceit, but found none. “I know Zayn doesn’t totally like me either, but, I mean, we could be friends, right? Screw what they say?”

“Mmm…” Shrugging, I wiped the tears out of my eyes. “I don’t know.”

Louis looked back at me, his eyes watering. “Please, Harry? I just want to be friends- Jeez, listen to me. I’m begging.”

I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. “We can be friends, as long as you don’t snap at me like that again, okay?”

He immediately turned into the hug and embraced me tightly, nodding. “I promise,” he whispered, setting his chin on my shoulder.

We rocked back and forth for a while, sniffling quietly to each other. I closed my eyes and buried my face into his neck, taking a deep breath of his cologne to calm my heart.

“Y’wanna stay here tonight?” I mumbled, pressing my nose into his collarbone where his collar had slipped off his shoulder. “I mean, you probably don’t want to share a room with the lovebirds.”

He laughed, running his fingers through my hair. “God, we have a really weird friendship already, and it’s only been ten minutes,” Louis teased, holding on to me as he laid back on my bed. “I’ll stay, yeah. I’d prefer not to listen to them shag.”

Giggling, I got up from the bed, despite his reluctance noises. “I sleep naked, is that okay?” He gave me a look of surprise, causing me to start laughing. “I’m kidding, dummy, You wish I slept naked. But I am taking off my trousers.”

“Good, I was beginning to wonder if you slept in jeans that tight,” he chuckled, taking off his jumper and throwing it on the floor. My eyes travelled from his bare chest to the lump of fabric on the floor. Noticing that I was just staring at it, he asked, “Is there something wrong?”

Bending over to pick it up, I folded his jumper and set it on my desk. “I like my room organized. Zayn is a pain to clean up after,” I scoffed, removing my trousers and throwing them in the laundry bin.

“Get the lights while you’re up,” the caramel-haired boy whined, snuggling under the comforter.

“So, are you taking my bed, or should I get up on Zayn’s?”

“No, come here. We can snuggle, right?” He mumbled, spread his arms on the bed. “You look like a snuggler.”

“Yeah, I’m a snuggler,” I grinned, clicking off the lights and crossing over to the bed. “Do you mind if I put on some music? I usually listen to some as I fall asleep.”

He chuckled, “As long as it’s not those 70’s porn soundtracks or whatever.”

“No, no,” my face pinkened, earning a laugh. “It’s just nature sounds, I promise.”

“Just turn it on and get in bed,” Louis said, patting the mattress and grinning. “I’m so tired,” he whined dramatically.

I rolled my eyes, messing with my ipod for a second before setting it down on the desk as it started playing. Falling onto the bed, I felt the caramel-haired boy wrap his arms around me tight.

He tucked his chin on the top of my head, and I responded by curling into his chest. I rested my hand on his chest, letting go of the breath I didn’t realize I was holding before closing my eyes, inhaling the scent radiating off his bare skin. His fingers traced the collar of my jumper, barely brushing the back of my neck.

Taking my hand off him for a brief second, I reached down and pulled the blankets up, tucking us in up to my shoulders. It was a little uncomfortable, seeing as he was much shorter than I was, but neither of us bothered to complain.

“Night, Louis.”

“Sleep well, Curly.”

\----

A loud alarm went off, causing my eyes to shoot straight open. I sat up, reaching blurrily towards the cause of the noise. My hand fumbled on the desk for a little while before I finally found and silenced my phone.

I laid back down, snuggling into the warm body on my mattress. “mmm, Morning Zayn.”

“Does Zayn normally wake you up like this?” came another groggy voice, one that was definitely not my black-haired roommate. “Jeez, Liam’s not going to like that.”

“Louis?” I blurted, turning to face the other. He was grinning at me, curling my hair around his finger. “I, uh, right. I remember now.”

He let out this rich laugh, ending with a tad of a squee. “You are really cute when you’re tired,” the caramel-haired boy teased,  sitting up himself. “I’m going to go shower and get ready for class.”

Nodding, I watched (and felt) him roll over me before standing up to leave. “Don’t forget your jumper,” I reminded him, pointing to the desk.

“Nah, I’ll leave that with you. Don’t worry, neat freak, it’s clean,” he grinned, waving at me before leaving. As soon as the door closed, I laid back on my mattress, biting my lip.

Although my mind was saying, _no Harry, he’s no good for you, he has a TiMER,_  I couldn’t help feel skittish thinking about him. I rolled over, trying to calm myself down, but found my entire bed smelling like him.

\----

Wearing Louis’ jumper, I sat down in the lecture hall that my minorities class was in. I was in the third row, just close enough to be able to see everything but far enough that I could slack off without getting caught.

Opening up the textbook, I was surprised when hands covered my eyes, blinding me momentarily. My hands shot up to remove the others, and when I turned to see who it is, I was face-to-face with Louis, who sat down next to me.

“Surprise!” he grinned, adjusting his glasses and pulling out a notebook to write in. “Looks like we have this class together, Curly.”

“Phew, someone I know,” I replied, smiling at him. He reached his hand out and set it on my shoulder, rubbing circles into the bone as the teacher began talking.

\----

After classes, Louis and I were walking back to the dorm. We had our English, Minorities, and Social Justice classes together, of which we immediately sat next to each other and, well, flirted. He would rub my skin, caressing my hand under the desk. I kept tangling my foot with his, trading flustered smiles and pretty little giggles.

Back in the dorm, we were laying on the floor of Louis’ room while doing some homework- despite his complaints about how it was only the first day and there shouldn’t be homework this early- with Liam sitting on the top bunk reading a required book.

“Okay, Curly, can you show me what this means? I’ve never taken a minority class before,” the caramel-haired boy mumbled, pointing to a passage in our textbook. I noticed the TiMER on his wrist, which caused my heart to stop for a second.

0024d:08h:31m:05s

Regain my stature, I rolled my eyes but reread the passage he was confused about. After a second, I said out loud, “Well, this talks about hegemony. You do know what that means, right?”

Louis fluttered his eyelashes at me, obviously trying to say that he doesn’t.

“Well, hegemony is when one group, usually the majority, is given a ton of superiority and privileges and whatever,” I grinned, rolling on my side and smiling at him. “Read the passage again and tell me if it makes more sense now.”

After a second of silence, he nodded at me. “Thanks, Curly.”

My heart started bubbling with the look he gave me, and I leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek. It was brief, but just long enough that I began to regret it. With a pink blush on his cheeks, Louis bit his lip while smiling at me. I returned both the smile and the blush, making eye contact with him momentarily before turning back to the book and pretending to read it.

His hand rested gently on my forearm, as he hummed a little tune. Louis drew on my jumper- which was actually his- while scribbling something down on his paper.

“Hey you two,” Liam sighed, catching both of our attention. “Stop flirting."

My face turned bright red. “We’re not flirting,” I returned, glancing down at Louis, who was also blushing quite heavily.

“Sure,” he teased, throwing the pillow off the top bunk and hitting me with it. “Completely platonic down there.”

Rolling over and resting against Louis’ shoulder, I sighed loudly. “Sorry, Liam,” Louis said, running his fingers through my hair. “I guess I’ll have to be more platonic down here,” he teased, throwing the pillow back up.

I shrugged, holding the book up and smacking Louis gently with it. “Back to homework, platonic flirting buddy.”

He grinned at me, setting his hand back on my arm and continuing the gentle touches.

 


	4. Chapter 4

“Welcome!” The woman behind the desk smiled, grabbing menus and greeting us. “Just two?”

“Yeah,” Louis replied, a soft smile on his face. He led as we followed her through the dimmed restaurant, eventually sitting us at a table in the very back. “Ever been here, Curly?” he teased, sitting across from me.

“Nope,” I replied, picking up a menu and going through it. “Too bad Liam and Zayn couldn’t come.”

“Well, this is their first time seeing Li’s parents as a couple,” he shrugged, his eyes scanning the list. “I’m pretty sure he has to come out, too. Parents were convinced he’s straight.”

“Poor guy.” Deciding on a fancy type of spaghetti that I couldn’t pronounce, I set my menu back down and sipped at the water. “I’ve been out since secondary.”

“You know my coming out story,” Louis snarked, tangling his ankle with mine under the table. “It all started when Grimshaw decided to confront me about ‘stealing’ his boyfriend in front of my football team.”

“I’m really sorry about that,” I sighed, leaning on my hand and watching him. He had dressed up for the dinner; not formal, per se, but definitely better than his normal ripped tee shirt. The short-sleeve button down (Topman, I think) was tight around his biceps, causing me to drool. He had styled his hair up into a quiff, but left his face with a tad of stubble. It was definitely the most attractive I had ever seen him, but I was a little cautious to mention it.

“What are you planning on getting?” the caramel-haired man asked, peeking at me over his menu. “I was thinking the Salmon, personally.”

“Oh, the…” Lifting the menu and pointing at the meal, I tried to say it. “Fogly doolivo? Fohlai doo-ilivo?”

“Foglie d’ulivo?” he laughed, setting his menu down. “Are you sure? Maybe you should get something you can pronounce,” he teased, rolling his eyes at me.

“Shut up, sassy ass.” I stuck my tongue out, but quickly returned to a fond smile. “Yes, I’m getting that with the Marinara sauce. Did I pronounce that one right?” Louis let out a rich laugh, but calmed himself when the waitress came back over.

“Are you two ready to order?” she smiled, batting her eyelashes at Louis.

“Yes,” he smiled up at her, obviously unaware at her flirting attempt. “I’ll take the Salmon Cioppino, and he’ll have the Foglie d’ulivo with Marinara.”

“And your drinks?”

“I’ll have a coca cola, and..” he glanced at me for my order.

“I’ll just have water, thanks,” I answered, reaching my hand across the table and gently setting it on his. Louis blushed softly, but the girl seemed to get the hint.

“I’ll be right back with your pop,” she smiled, not as flirty this time, and turned to the kitchen.

The caramel-haired man faced me, his cheeks slightly pink. “I- uh, hi, Curly,” he stuttered, setting his other hand on top of mine. “What’s with the hand-holding? This is new.”

“She was flirting with you big time,” I whispered, leaning in closer to him. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice.”

“Was she really? I never would’ve- wow,” he smiled, squeezing my hand slightly. “So you came to my rescue, my big curly knight.”

My entire face flushed. “I just- y’know, you’re gay, and it’s kinda close to your zero day, right? You have about a month, right?”

“You noticed,” Louis exclaimed, pulling his hands back and showing me. “Twenty days left! I’m getting pretty excited. I hope they’re someone as nice as you are, Curly,” he grinned, drawing a circle on my hand.

“Here’s your pop,” the woman’s voice interrupted, making us both draw back. “Your food will be done shortly- oh! And we have live music starting in about five minutes.”

“Thank you, very much,” the caramel-haired boy said in the most gay voice I’ve ever heard, with some giggling at the end. The waitress let out a loud sigh as she turned around and walked off, shoulders slumped.

“You are brilliant,” I laughed, rolling my eyes and leaning back in the seat.

“I wonder what the music is,” he shrugged, taking a sip of his fizzy drink. “You look really nice, by the way.”

“Oh, thanks,” blushing softly, I looked down at my chest. With a plain cable-knit jumper and just plain denim, I thought I looked shabby next to him. “This is actually Zayn’s top.”

“I reckon it looks better on you,” he smiled, rubbing his arm gently. “You should steal it from him. He’s got more than enough of those.”

Rolling my eyes, I was about to say something when the lights dimmed a little further, and music started playing from the stage. We both turned to look and laughed a little bit when we saw who it was.

“Niall?” I whispered to Louis, grinning at the blond on stage.

“I- yeah, that’s him,” he replied, resting his forearm on the table. “Who’s he performing with?”

“I reckon that’s Ed.” Turning to look at the caramel-haired boy, I smiled at him fondly. “They’re in their music theory class together, and he’s a pretty fun guy.”

“How do you know that?” he furrowed his brows, turning to look at me.

“Niall and I share a Business Technology class. We talk quite a bit.” I smiled, admiring the way the light caught his eyes.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Louis said, setting his hand on mine. “What are you even majoring in? You’re taking an assortment of different classes.”

“I’m majoring in Hormonal Sciences, so I can work at Matchmakers™ when I graduate,” sighing, I glanced back over at the musicians, before turning to smile at the boy across the table. “I really like this song.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he agreed, massaging my thumb softly.

“You’re really pretty,” I admitted, watching the way his cheeks contoured into a smile.

His face pinkened, as he bit his lip and looked down at the table briefly. “Thanks, Curly,” Louis shrugged, straightening up and making eye contact with me. “You’re not too bad yourself,” he whispered, pushing his hair behind one ear with his free hand.

“Here’s your food,” the waitress interrupted, setting Louis’ down first, then followed by mine. “Can I help you with anything else?”

“Yes,” Louis smiled, removing his hand from mine quickly, using it to point at the stage. “Will you tell the blond on stage that his friends are here? When he’s done with this set, of course.’

“Names?” She smiled, although her eyes looked infinitely less happy than they were earlier.

“Hazza and Louis,” the caramel-haired man replied, setting his hands back down on the table. “He’ll recognize that name,” he snarked to me as the waitress walked off.

“Really?” I rolled my eyes, picking at my dinner with the fork. “I really want some of my friends to call me by my real name.”

“Do you mean that Curly isn’t your real name?” he pretended to look shocked. “You’ve been lying to me!”

Laughing, I put my fork with a piece of pasta into his open mouth. He bit down, letting me take my silverware back. He nodded, obviously enjoying the taste.

“Not bad,” Louis smiled, cutting his salmon into small bites. I watched him take a bite, grinning at how cute he was.

While eating, an arm wrapped around my shoulders, causing me to look up. Niall was standing there, his face flushed and grinning.

“Nialler,” Louis exclaimed, standing from his seat to give the irishman a hug. “You sounded great up there.”

“Thanks mate,” he replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down.

“Would you like some of my pasta?” Offering him the plate and a fork, I smiled at the blond. He took a few bites, chewing it slowly at first, then quickly eating a little more.

“Ni, we have five minutes left,” another voice came, and we all turned to see the ginger standing behind Niall.

“Oh, hey, guys, this is Ed. He’s my partner in crime here,” the blond grinned, pointing a finger at his friend. “Come sit with us.”

He shrugged, pulling up another chair next to Louis. “You’re Harry, yeah?” Ed asked, smiling at me. “Niall talks about you sometimes.”

“Yeah, hi,” I replied, taking a sip of water. “Niall raves about you quite a bit. You’re apparently a whiz at both songwriting and singing.”

“You heard him up there,” Louis leaned over the table, grinning. “He is a whiz at singing.”

“Thanks, mate,” The ginger grinned, turning to face the other man. “Are you Louis?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Wow, does Niall talk about us that much?”

“Well, he said that ‘Haz and Boobear are always together’, or something,” Ed grinned, gesturing between the two of us. “So I just kinda guessed.”

“Boobear?” I grinned,reaching over and pinching the caramel-haired boy’s cheeks.

“That’s what his sisters call him,” Niall laughed, stealing a piece of salmon. “I picked it up, like Hazza. Nicknames are fun.”

“Don’t you dare start using that,” Louis hissed, smacking my hand away. “I hate it. My sisters barely get away with it.”

“Sure, of course,” Pulling my hand back, I grinned. “Boobear.” Completely ignoring the glare he was giving me, I turned to look at the ginger. “So do you guys perform here often?”

“Once in a while,” Ed shrugged, opening his mouth as Niall gave him a piece of my pasta. “Whenever they’re free, mainly. Usually they have another band playing on fridays, and I’m not gonna lie, they’re pretty good.”

“Really?” Resting my chin on my hand, I smiled at him. “What’s the name?”

“5 Seconds of Summer,” the irishman mumbled through a mouth full of food. “Australians, y’know?”

“Really?” Louis beamed, his face glowing. “I love their youtube channel. They’re amazing.” I grinned, his happiness just exuding everywhere. “They’re all super cute, especially Ashton. I would love to meet them.”

“Hey now,” I laughed. “Maybe he’s your zero, y’know? You do have only twenty days.”

“Congrats,” Ed smiled, patting the caramel-haired boy’s shoulder.

“Thanks.”

“We’re back on,” Niall said, standing up and giving me a shoulder hug. “You two enjoy the rest of your date.”

My face flushed, watching Ed join Niall back up on stage. I turned to look at Louis, and saw that he was blushing also. Biting my lip and looking down at my plate, I pushed a piece of pasta around the mostly-empty plate.

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed,” the blue-eyed boy smiled, reaching across the table and squeezing my hand. “I wouldn’t mind this being a date,” he said quietly, almost as if he didn’t want me to hear.

“Me neither.”

\----

Going through my Recombinant DNA textbook while laying on my bed, I could hear Zayn mumbling something to himself about how much of an idiot he was about taking so many design classes. Despite many attempts to drown him out with the music, he kept complaining louder. I closed my book and threw it onto the desk, sighing quietly. Picking up the next packet of homework- from the English class Louis and I had together- I quietly scratched down some answers.

The door opened, and I was more than relieved to have a break. Looking up to see a familiar face, I grinned and propped myself up on my elbows.

“To what do we owe this pleasure, Tommo?” Zayn groaned.

“Wanted to see if Curly got this problem done,” the caramel-haired boy grinned, crossing over to my bed and laying down next to me. “The English question about the short story we had to read in class? you know, ‘what connections can you make between the  four candles and Trifles, the play we read last week?’ I definitely don’t know how to connect them.”

Rolling my eyes, I tried to explain, but found myself completely clueless. “I guess I don’t really understand,” I admitted, setting my head on the packet and sighing. “The only connection I can make is between my four nipples.”

Louis looked at me with a mix of surprise and curiosity. “four nipples?” he grinned at me before leaning in to whisper, “can I see?”

My face heated up, but I nodded. Rolling over onto my back, I pulled up the front of my jumper and exposed my bare chest. “See? Count’em. Four.”

His eyes widened. The caramel-haired boy crawled over me, straddling my crotch and setting his hands gently on my stomach. Chewing his lip with half-lidded eyes, he let out a whisper, “Are they… sensitive? Like, can I touch?”

Convinced that the way he was looking at me was officially the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, I only nodded wordlessly. He brushed his thumb over the left nipple, although that one was correctly placed. I bit back a shuddery moan, and he placed his other thumb on the right one.

Louis’ eyes made contact with mine, and I noticed that his pupils were blown with lust. The sinfully pink lips were now spread, wetting them with his tongue as he let his fingers ghost over my now-erect nipples. With a subtle nod of his head, he trailed his fingers down to the other set.

With a soft gasp, I arched my back unwillingly. The caramel-haired boy rubbed circles around the second nipples, pressing down gently.

“Are you two done shagging down there? It’s really embarrassing to hear,” Zayn called, causing Louis to immediately pull away and off of my lap, his face turning a proper shade of red.

“We’re not shagging!” he replied, setting his hands on either side of my body.

“Yeah, if you were, Harry’d be on top.”

“Excuse me?” the caramel-haired boy snapped, before lifting my knees onto his shoulders. “I would top in every single situation. Right, Curly?”

I stared at him with the largest eyes, my mouth slack with a mix of lust and desperation. My hands were resting by my head, with my chest exposed and now my rear up in the air. With a shuddering exhale, I nodded.

Louis looked at me, staring for a long while before pulling away to stand up. “I’m, uh, going back to the room. Homework- right, yeah, I’m, uh- bye,” he stammered, turning and leaving the room.

“You gave him a boner,” Zayn stated, climbing down the ladder and staring at me. “You didn’t escape unscathed either, huh?”

Blushing profoundly, I sat up and quickly pulled my top down over my chest. “Shut up.”

“I’m telling Liam about this,” he teased, sitting on the bed next to me. “I hate to admit it, but you guys aren’t a bad couple. Even if he is a little shit.”

“We’re not a couple,” I blushed, gripping the sheets on the bed. “He’s not even interested in me like that!”

“Right,” he rolled his eyes. “He was playing with your nipples platonically.”

“Shut up, Zayn. He just wanted to see them.” Laying back on the mattress and closing my eyes, I tried to remember how his face looked. “It’s not every day you see a boy with four.”

“So he fondled your nips, because there was four? Sounds more like he wanted to touch you, and your four nips was a good excuse.”

With a smile on my face, I shook my head. My stomach was full of butterflies, causing me to weakly open one eye and giggle at my roommate, who was grinning at me fondly.

“Seriously, Harry, he digs you.”

\----

Three weeks went by, and I had barely left Louis’ side the entire time. We spent many nights in the same bed, teasing each other and cuddling almost exclusively with each other(save for once or twice with Zayn and Liam).

I was watching him fondly from where I was sitting, across a booth from him and Nick. They were having an actual conversation, and talking to each other with minimal snide remarks. He rolled his perfectly blue eyes every chance he got, but always had a small smile on his lips.

Grimmy had caught me staring once or twice, grinning at me maliciously before saying some sort of hint to Louis. Fortunately, the caramel-haired boy never caught on, but I kicked my old babysitter every time he mentioned it.

An arm around my shoulder caught my attention, and I turned to look at Zayn, who was sitting next to me. I smiled at him, blushing a little bit, before leaning into his touch. It was just us four, since Liam and Niall were doing a project for class and had kicked us all out of the dorms so they could focus.

“Harry,” he whispered, just quietly enough that I knew he didn’t want the other two to hear. “You need to get over Louis. Now.”

“What?” I hissed back, turning to look at him with wide eyes.

“He has  _two days left_ , mate,” the black-haired boy replied. “I know you know. Two days until he zeroes out and Harry,  _it’s not going to be you_.”

Blinking quickly, I froze completely. My heart dropped, and I felt my stomach knot up as Louis turned to look at me, breaking his conversation from Nick.

“You alright Curly?” he furrowed his brow, reaching his hand across the table to mine. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“I feel sick,” I replied, standing up and putting some money on the table. “Sorry guys, I’m heading back early.”

“Feel better,” Grimmy called, waving at me. Although the look on Zayn’s face was remorse, I grinned at them and walked out into the first snow of the year.

After a short walk, I found myself back on campus, climbing the stairs up to our dorm room. Fortunately, Liam and Niall were in Liam’s room, so I found refuge in my own. The lights were off, and I left them off. Crawling into the bed and pulling the blankets up to my neck, I fought back tears.

It had never occurred to me just what that had meant; Louis would officially belong to someone else in 48 hours. If I cried, I would never admit it.

 


	5. Chapter 5

“10… 9… 8…” We counted, watching Louis’ wrist decline. “7… 6… 5… 4…” I reached my arm over, picking it up and caressing his wrist in my hand. He glanced over, catching my eyes and smiling at me cautiously. “3… 2… 1…”

The chiming echoed through the small dorm room, and we all stayed quiet for a moment.

Louis was the first to speak. “So that’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Zayn responded, standing up and opening the deck door. He pulled out a cigarette from a pack, before lighting it and stepping outside. “It’s not really all that magical, y’know? People really make it--”

“Shut up,” Liam hissed, wrapping his arms around the caramel-haired boy from behind. Niall rested his head on Lou’s lap, smiling up at him. “It really is amazing. Zayn’s just being stupid.”

“Yeah,” I grinned, rubbing his arm gently. “In less than 24 hours, you meet the person that you’ll spend the rest of your life with.” He smiled at me, his eyes crinkling softly. The boy’s mouth opened as if he was going to say something.

“So, uh, who’s next? Me or Harry?” The irishman interrupted, stealing Louis’ words away.

“You,” I quickly said, letting go of the caramel-haired boy’s arm. “Definitely you, Nialler.”

“You never let anyone know how long you’ve got,” the blond mumbled, burying his face into the other’s lap. “I just wanna knoooow.”

A hand pushed Niall’s face off Louis, making us all look up at Zayn. I was surprised to see the anger in his face, and he looked at the blond with such discontent. “Don’t push it, Horan. If he doesn’t want to tell you, just, back. Off.”

“Zayn!” Liam snapped, standing up and pulling his boyfriend out into the hallway. We heard them bickering, although the words weren’t quite coherent.

“He’s never snapped at me before,” Niall gaped.

“I’ve never seen Zayn that mad,” Louis mumbled, turning back to look at me. “He really loves you, mate.”

“Why does Zayn get to know your count?” The blond pouted rhetorically.

“Right time, I guess.”

The boys came back into the room, and Zayn immediately apologized for his behavior, but Niall forgave him without batting an eye. Liam suggested that we all sleep for a few hours, as we were all tired and needed to rest.

“So, the lovebirds share the top bunk,” The irish one decided, gesturing between the boyfriends. “I’ll take the floor- I got a back of steel, you guys are too weak- so Hazza and Louis can share a bed. Is that alright?”

“I’m good with that,” Zayn smiled, stripping off his shirt and climbing into his bunk, followed quickly by Liam. “You want a blanket, Nialler?”

“Probably,” he yawned, stretching out on the wooden floor. “It is, y’know, middle of winter.”

Folding my recently stripped jumper, I rolled my eyes before addressing Lou: “He’s picking up your sarcasm. You need to be more careful about it.”

He laughed, taking off his jeans and handing them to me- I’ve learned to fold all of his clothing, otherwise it ends up on my floor. “Yeah, well, I’m the only one allowed to be sassy.”

“I’ll get the lights,” Niall laughed, crawling a few feet and reaching for the switch. As the room went dark, I laid my head onto Louis’ chest. His fingers immediately latched into my hair, twirling it softly as a nervous tick.

Minutes passed, and I couldn’t sleep despite hearing the quiet snoring from the floor (jeez, Niall falls asleep fast). The fingers in my hair hadn’t stopped, and had progressively gotten more desperate. I scooted upwards, making us face-to-face.

“Nervous?” I whispered, petting his soft caramel hair. The way it felt between my fingers made my heart melt just a tad, making me fight the urge to kiss him.

“Yeah,” Louis replied, tilting his head softly to look at me. “It’s just weird, y’know? I’m going to fall in love today.”

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I nodded before moving my hand from his hair to his cheek. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

He closed his eyes, relaxing into my hand. “Somehow, when you say it, I believe it,” the blue-eyed boy smiled, his eyes opening slowly and glimmering despite the darkness. “Just, I want you by my side when I meet him, okay?”

My chest tightened, and despite all the urges to stand up and run, I said, “Always.”

“And I’ll be there when you meet yours. Now I can sleep,” he mumbled, closing his eyes again and moving closer to me, wrapping his arms closer. “You’re really good for me, Curly.”

“Are you ever going to call me by my real name?”

“Nah,” he said groggily, pressing his lips against my forehead before falling asleep.

I laid in silence, the only one left awake for a long while. Maybe I had brought this on myself, falling in love with a working TiMER. My eyes shut, but I stayed awake for what felt like hours.

\----

Pressure on my chest caused me to wake up, and when I opened my eyes, there was a skinny blond boy on my stomach, pushing down on my chest.

“Wake up Hazza!” Niall shrieked, rocking back and forth. “It’s time for breakfast!”

“Wh-” I mumbled, pushing him off of me. “Who’s cooking?”

“Louis, I think?” he shrugged, getting up off the bed and scratching his head. Quickly rushing out of the room and down to the joint kitchen, I didn’t even realize that I wasn’t wearing a jumper to cover my wrist. Niall followed, complaining that it was too early to run.

“Okay, well, I don’t know how to make pancakes, apparently,” I heard from the kitchen, followed by a billow of smoke, causing me to break out into a sprint; When the door was swung open, I saw Louis standing in front of the sink soaking a pan. “Hey Curly, what’s up? You finally got up.”

“You need to leave the kitchen,” I breathed, taking his hands and moving him to the door. “I like my dorm. I don’t want it going up in flames.”

Zayn’s laugh came clear, catching my attention from behind the caramel-haired boy. “Jeez Harry, then make breakfast yourself!”

“I will. Now shoo!” Rolling my eyes, I smacked Louis’ ass as he turned and walked away. “You were trying pancakes? I can do pancakes.”

“Weren’t you a baker?” the black-haired boy brought up, smirking.

“You were? Hazza! Make cakes!” Niall exclaimed, pulling up a chair in the attached dining room. “Cupcakes, or crepes or something!”

“Calm down, Nialler,” I laughed, scrubbing the burnt pan. “It’s Louis’ day. What do you want, Lou?”

“Pancakes are my favorite,” the boy beamed, kicking his legs like a little kid while he sat on Liam’s lap. “Make them special, Curly. How ever you want to. As long as they’re still pancakes!”

With a smile continuously on my face, I started making the mix, cracking eggs into a bowl. I felt like I was dancing through the kitchen, spinning back and forth between the mix, the pan, and a platter to put them on.

“I just realized,” Niall said, stopping the conversation from the dining room (something about a movie I still hadn’t seen, but made plans with Louis to go see). “I’ve never seen you shirtless before.”

“Really?” Liam shrugged. “He’s shirtless a lot.”

“Like, every night,” Zayn agreed, patting his boyfriend’s leg.

“I’ve only seen him once,” the caramel-haired boy grinned, before correcting himself: “Twice, if you count the nipple encounter.”

I laughed loudly, almost spilling the entire bowl of mix into the pan. “You gave that a name?”

“It was funny! Zayn turned an amazing shade of pink!” he grinned, reaching over and pinching the black-haired boy’s cheek.

“Yeah, right after he gave you a boner!” Zayn snapped, grinning at Louis with fondness. “What part of that was a good idea in your head?”

“I’m not exactly sure. It made sense at the time.”

Niall looked back and forth between the two, his eyes begging for an answer. Liam had, undoubtedly, heard from his boyfriend, and had probably teased Louis about it for nights on end.

“Okay guys, calm down,” I grinned, holding two plates up. “breakfast is ready.” Handing the plates off to Louis and Niall first, I managed to quiet them down quickly. Then I served the other two, handed out the syrup, ended up grabbing each of them water, before finally sitting down to eat my own.

“So, Lou, what’s the plan of attack?” the blond grinned, his mouth half full of pancake. “Are we going out to meet as many guys as possible? Going drinking?”

My chest tightened, and as much as I tried to relax, I could feel tears stinging at my eyes. “I think we’re just going to stay in,” the caramel-haired boy replied, standing up and taking his empty plate to the sink. “I mean, if I’m going to meet him anyways, why go out of my way to do it?”

Niall shrugged, and I handed him my barely touched plate. The conversation was making me feel sick to my stomach, and I just couldn’t bring myself to eat anything. He gladly took it from me, as he had finished his own breakfast already. Liam furrowed his brows and gave me a look of sympathy, but I just shook my head softly.

I didn’t want his sympathy. I had gotten myself into this, and there was no one to blame but me.

“So…” said Louis as hands landed on my shoulders from behind. “FIFA?”

\----

Heading back up to the room, Louis and I were holding hands, gently entwining our fingers. I was giggling something to Niall, who was boasting about some achievement he had gotten on some video game that I didn’t catch the name of. Glancing over at the caramel-haired man, I briefly caught the fond smile on his face that he was giving me before he quickly turned away, blushing just slightly.

“So Liam,” Louis mumbled, obviously trying to cover up me catching him. “Tell me about you.”

“I’ve known you since second grade, Lou. What are you even trying to prove?” the puppy-dog eyed boy furrowed his brows, rubbing his boyfriend’s arm. Zayn leaned in and whispered something in his ear, causing Liam to nod and grin at Louis. “Excited for the rest of the day, babe?”

“Yeah, yeah,” the blue-eyed boy replied, squeezing my hand quietly. “I’m pretty excited. I’m really nervous, though. I’m scared I’m going to fuck something up.”

“You won’t,” I whispered, pressing a kiss into his hair as we entered the dorm room again. “You’ll be amazing.”

He removed his hand from mine to stretch out, and I pulled out the monitor that he had stored under his bed for video games. Originally it had been left on the floor along with the rest of his things, but I had given it a place when I cleaned his room.

“You got that, babe?” Zayn asked, setting a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” I replied, plugging it into his console and then the outlet. “No problem! I’ve done this before.”

Standing up and retreating to the corner of his bunk, I let Louis sit between my legs, taking a controller and starting up the game. I wrapped my arms around his waist, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck.

Niall took one of the other controllers, leaving Zayn with the last one. Humming a little tune along with the game, I sighed silently into his shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to the bone.

Louis took my hand with his, lifting it to his lips and pressing a kiss to the inside of my wrist. My heart froze when I realized it was my TiMER, causing me to immediately jerk it away from his grasp. He paused, staring at where my hand had been for a second before glancing at me over his shoulder.

“You alright?” he mouthed.

Nodding out an answer, I returned my arm around his waist. The caramel-haired boy seemed to get the message, and didn’t touch it or even reach for it again.

“Hey, you’re winning,” I grinned, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. “Good job, babe.”

\----

It was approaching 10PM when we finally put down the games. Niall and Louis had trampled everyone by upwards of ten points, leaving poor Zayn trying to figure out the controls, with Liam and I rooting them on from behind.

“God, I’m worried!” The caramel-haired boy fret, staring at his wrist. “The day’s almost over and I haven’t met anyone…” He bit his lip, turning to look directly at me. My heart jumped at the look in his eyes, but I forced myself to shrug.

“Maybe it’ll be like Cinderella! You meet him at midnight and then it’s like, boom! Pow! Fireworks!” Niall exclaimed, gesturing wildly with his hands.

“Have you ever read Cinderella?” Zayn laughed, sitting between his boyfriend’s legs. “It’s nothing like that. The only part you got right was the time.”

We all laughed at the way the irishman stuck his tongue out, but the feeling was quickly fleeting.

“I’m seriously freaked, though,” he whispered, just staring at his TiMER.

“Lou, does it still have the zeroes?” I asked, reaching over and petting his hair.

“Yeah?”

“Then you’re fine. It turns to dashes when something happens.” With a smile, I pulled him closer. “D’you guys want to watch a movie?”

“Maybe  _Cinderella_?” Zayn smirked. “For Niall’s sake?”

“How about  _Grease_?” I suggested, resting my chin on the top of Louis’ hair. “It’s Boobear’s favorite!”

“How about not calling me that?” he teased, prodding my thigh. I pouted at him, to which he rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to have my soul mate call me Boobear.”

“Yeah,” smirking, I pressed a quick peck to his forehead. “So let me have my fun until you meet him.”

“ _Grease_  sounds good,” Liam interrupted, obviously to keep Louis from saying whatever he had opened his mouth to say.

We chatted to each other about ordering pizza while Niall set up the movie. Louis’ vote obviously weighed heaviest, so we ended up getting pepperoni. I called in the order, being the only one able to reach the phone. (the others were to lazy to move)

By the end of the movie, I was concerned that the pizza had not arrived. It had been almost two hours- it definitely didn’t take that long to make a pepperoni pizza and drive two blocks to deliver it.

“I still haven’t met him,” Louis cried, eyeing the clock. “We only have twelve minutes until midnight.”

“It’ll be okay,” Liam tried to comfort, rubbing his shoulders. “You still have your zeroes, what could go wrong?” An obviously-fake grin was on his mouth as he said, “You’ll meet him in the next twelve minutes, I promise.”

I called the pizza place while they were talking, and as soon as the phone was picked up, I asked about our order.

My eyes closed quickly. “I’m so sorry. Is he- it’s alright, just- of course.” Hanging up, I set the phone down and turned back to the boys. “Pizza man got in an accident. We’re not getting our order tonight.”

“Bummeerr,” Niall whined, rolling around on the floor. “I’m hungry.”

“You ate three bags of chips, Niall,” Zayn grinned, throwing the empty family-sized bags at the blond. “How the hell are you still hungry?”

“Fast metabolism.”

“Seven minutes,” Louis mumbled, pulling his legs up onto the bed and curling into a ball. “What if he doesn’t show up? We never learned about this!”

Crossing the room and sitting next to him, I started rubbing his back. “Look, Lou,” I began, but was cut off by him hiding his face in my shoulder. Letting out a deep breath and continuing, I whispered into his hair, “Nothing can go wrong. You’ve been counting down to this day since you were fourteen; your TiMER isn’t going to be wrong. This is- this is a science.”

He nodded, but refused to move. My eyes were locked on the clock on the wall; five minutes left. “He’ll come,” I repeated, holding him closer to my chest. “I know he will.”

Four minutes.

We all sat in silence, watching the second hand tick down, save for Louis; he hadn’t moved from my arms, hiding his face to keep from watching the clock.

Three minutes.

I had begun to worry. The TiMERs couldn’t be wrong, I reminded myself. It was a science. They had everything fixed, there were no bugs, no problems. They promised that.

Two minutes.

But they had also said no second chances. You had  _one_  soul mate, and the TiMER would find him or her. That was it. From filling out the personality tests online to paying for the monthly subscription, they had always promised that you would be satisfied- and in love- with your TiMER.

One minute.

It had to be the longest sixty seconds of our lives. I nudged Louis, pointing towards the clock. He shook his head and gripped my bare upper arm, shaking slightly. 24 hours was almost over, and his TiMER hadn’t started recalculating. Do they even do that? Was that possible?

“Midnight,” Zayn sighed quietly.

“No, no,” he choked, sitting up. The boy had tears filling his eyes. “This- I- what- _no_!”

Liam took the caramel-haired man from me, letting me stand up and grab the phone once more. This time, I dialed the Matchmakers™.

“ _Hello, How may we help you_?” came through the phone. I closed my eyes and sat on the armrest of the couch.

“I need to do a record search.” The boys were looking at me, except for Louis, who was sobbing quietly.

“ _I’m sorry sir, we don’t do that_ ,” the woman on the other end said, but I cut her off.

“I am a Styles, and I need to do a record search.” Punctuating each phrase with a punch to my knee, I swallowed hard.

“ _Right away, sir, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize your voice. Let me transfer you_.” With that, I was put on hold.

Zayn started to say something, but I shushed him immediately.

A split second later, a male voice came on. “ _Who is speaking_?”

“Harry Edward Styles,” I responded, stepping out on the deck.

“ _Birthday_?”

“February 1st, 1994. Code 9-8-4-2-2-1-2.”

“ _One moment sir_ ,” he said before putting me back on hold. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I leant over the railing and exhaled. The air looked like smoke, which I watched rise to the sky. “ _I’m sorry for the wait, Mr. Styles,_ ” the man said again. “ _How may we help you_?”

“I need to do a record search for my friend,” I stated, turning and watching the caramel-haired boy shudder into Liam’s chest.”

“ _Yes, of course, Sir. I’ll need his name and birthday._ ”

“Louis William Tomlinson- T, O, M, L, I, N, S, O, N,” After hearing the man type it in, I continued with, “Born on December 24th, 1991. He’s 21, almost 22.”

“ _While it searches, may I ask what the problem was_?”

“24 hours passed after he zeroed out, yet his TiMER didn’t go off. He didn’t meet anybody new, and I- we need to know what happened.” My eyes traced Louis’ outline, noticing a little too late that he was staring right back at me. His eyes were red, not unlike the first time we had spent the night together.

“ _I’m sorry sir,_ ” he started, and I immediately knew. “ _Mr. Tomlinson’s soul mate, Arthur Michael Burke, was in a car accident while delivering a pizza and passed away only minutes ago_.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” I mumbled, turning my back to the boys and covering my face. “Thanks.”

“ _I’m sorry for your loss. Is there anything else I can help you with_?”

“When’s the next available appointment to remove a TiMER?”

“ _We are open most every day, but we request you fill out a removal form two weeks in advance_.”

“Thanks, really, thank you a lot.” Before hanging up, I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it for a moment. My eyes closed as I set my head on my arms, trying to pull myself together before facing the others.

“Wh-what?” Louis’s voice cut straight into my head, pushing all the other thoughts away. “What did they say?”

Straightening up slowly to turn around, I found myself with tears. I quickly wiped them away, desperate not to crack. This all reminded me of when I was young, and I couldn’t make this about me. I couldn’t let them know. I couldn’t break. Turning around and rushing to his side, I swallowed.

“He was our pizzaman.”

“Th-the one in the accident?” Liam whispered, covering his mouth in shock.

“He passed away a few minutes ago, Louis,” I muttered, brushing his bangs behind his ear. “I’m so sorry.”

“S-so that’s it?” He shrugged, his hands trailing slowly down my arms. “That’s all I get? After- after 8 years of waiting?” Louis lifted his wrist to look, and broke down crying after a small glance. I knew exactly what he saw, because I had seen it every single day for the last five years;

 

\----d:--h:--m:--s


	6. Chapter 6

It had been three days. Louis locked himself in his dorm, not talking to anyone except to tell them to get out. At this point, everyone in the dorm had heard about Louis’ situation, making it worse. He couldn’t go anywhere without the pitiful looks or comments, so he had decided to just stay inside. I was the only one who understood; Zayn’s patience had run out, Liam was a nervous wreck, and Niall constantly had tears in his eyes.

I reckon the breaking point was when Liam came into our dorm room, sobbing.

“I-I just can’t get through to him,” he wailed, burying his face in my chest. “He won’t l-listen to me.”

Rubbing his back comfortingly, I managed to keep the black-haired boy from storming down the hall with one hand. “He’s just… sore,” I mumbled, letting his boyfriend take him onto his lap.

“It’s been three days, Harry,” Zayn sighed, obviously frustrated. “I know it hurts- well, I can imagine- but he can’t keep sulking forever. Like you said, he can fall in love for himself.”

“When did I say that?” I furrowed my brows, rubbing my own wrist subconsciously.

“That one time we went to the cafe with Josh and Nick,” he gave a half-smile, hoping that I would remember. “You need to talk to him, Haz. You’re the only one that fully understands what he’s going through.”

Liam looked up at me, his puppy-dog eyes full of tears. “Please, Harry,” he begged.

I rolled my eyes and stood up, packing my phone in my back pocket. “Only for you, Li.”

“Thank you so much,” the brunette cried, wiping his eyes unsuccessfully.

Leaving the room and walking down the hall, I pulled the extra key out from my keyring, just in case the door was locked.

After unlocking the door and stepping inside, I let out a sigh. “Louis?” I worried, sitting down on his bunk and setting my hand on the bump of blanket. “Louis, please.”

“Go away,” he choked, his voice breaking.

“Louis, please,” pulling the blanket off to expose his face. “I know you’re hurting, bu-”

“You have NO IDEA what I’m going through!” He exclaimed, forcing himself up and pushing my hands away. “You and your TiMER, with your future Soul Mate! You have no idea,” he broke, letting out a dry sob.

Cue anger. Frustrated at his outburst, I stood up, crossed my arms, and leaned against the desk on the opposite side of the room. Watching him cry into his hands, I felt my heart tug towards him, but stayed strong anyways. “Really.” I started, trying to keep my voice level. “I have no idea what you’re going through.”

“You don’t,” he repeated, shaking slightly.

“You wanna know why I’ve never shown anyone my TiMER?” Uncrossing my arms and gripping the desk, I bit on my lip to keep from being overly harsh. “Because I don’t have a soul mate. Mine killed himself. At least yours didn’t die for the sole reason of avoiding you.”

Louis looked at me, his eyes wide and watery; his mouth began to open with words, but nothing came out.

“So yes, I know exactly what you’re going through,” I gritted my teeth, looking at the floor. “That’s why I’ve let you- well- act like this so long. If it wasn’t for me, the boys would’ve been on your back days ago.”

“Curly…” he began, his voice weak.

“No, Louis. I just,” taking a deep breath before continuing, I looked him right in the eye. “Don’t treat Liam like shit anymore. He wants to help. All of us do. Niall, Zayn, Liam- they all care about you more than anything.”

He nodded, before saying, “Curly-”

“I’m going back to Holmes Chapel for a little while,” I decided, stating it loudly as if to convince myself. “I just need to get away.”

“From me…?” Louis whispered, tears escaping his eyes in a steady pattern.

“From everyone. You, Zayn, Nick, this school, just everyone.”

“When will you be back?” he asked, weakly reaching for me.

“After the holidays, probably,” I shrugged, not moving closer to him despite every bone in my body wanting to hold him.

He shook his head, sobbing quietly. “Please, Harry, don’t- don’t leave me.”

“I’m sorry, Louis.”

I turned and left the room, closing the door behind me before sliding down the wood and crying into my knees.

\----

“You’re going to be missing a ton of classes,” Zayn said, giving me a hug tight. “You sure you want to leave early?”

“Yeah,” I replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek before pulling away. “I need to get away.”

Liam wrapped his arms around my waist tightly, sighing into my shoulder. “Louis is really heartbroken, Harry.”

“I know,” sighing, I returned the hug and rubbed his back. “I know. About his soul mate or whatever.”

He kissed my forehead, pushing my bangs back before adjusting my beanie. “No, Harry. He’s heartbroken over you.”

Pulling away just far enough to study his face, I held my breath, waiting for the ‘just kidding’ that didn’t come. “Are you sure?”

“It’s all you, Harry,” Zayn answered, setting his hand on my shoulder. “He’s crying because he’s lost you.”

I fought down the urge to throw up then and there, and gave them each one more hug before getting on a bus back to Cheshire.

\----

“Harry!” Gemma grinned, coming in the front door and setting down a suitcase. “You’re back early!”

“I left early,” I laughed, embracing my older sister. “Drama at the college, left a week before holidays.”

She rolled her eyes, a smile playing at her lips. “You’re so going to fail. So how’s mom?”

“She’s doing great! She’s currently at her new job, actually, so she’ll be home in a few hours,” Taking her bags and carrying them up the stairs to her old room, I happily answered questions about school and friends.

“So is there any special guy on the horizon?” she asked, sitting on her childhood bed while I unpacked her stuff (I was a neat freak, after all).

I paused briefly, but quickly went back to what I was doing. She seemed to notice, however, and started pestering me. “Yes, fine, there was a guy I was interested in,” I confessed, rolling my eyes. “But he zeroed out recently. You know my luck.”

Gemma hugged me from behind, apologizing quietly. “I’m sorry, Haz.”

“But hey!” Interrupting her, I turned around with a grin on my face. “You’ve got only a little bit left, right?”

“Two and a half years,” she grinned, lifting her wrist. “I’m so excited, it hurts.”

We laughed and talked for a while, but I left her alone when she complained of being tired.

\----

I sat on the couch, watching the television talk about some snow storm that was going to be hitting the Manchester area. My mind drifted back to Louis, wondering if he was outside, playing around with his sisters.

The image of him, face flushed from the cold, smiling, was enough to put a small grin on my own face. I imagined him with a small beanie on, a scarf around his neck, and that dumb jacket that he always wore when it was too cold out.

Pulling my legs up onto the couch, I felt like crying. I was lonely, for sure, but I really just missed the caramel-haired boy. After reaching for my phone, I shot a text to Grimmy.

  
**To: Grimmy**   


**Hey, how are you? xx**

Laying down and extending my legs out onto the armrest, I let out a sigh. There wasn’t really a lot I could do right now, with the snow so heavy outside and Gemma upstairs.

  
**From: Grimmy**   


**im gd n u? r u brd of hme alrdy?**

Yawning, I covered myself with the lap quilt and typed a response.

  
**To: Grimmy**   


**Gems is asleep and Mum is at work. I’m alone and tired and wishing I had someone to cuddle with.**

I watched the news intently, trying a futile attempt to distract myself. There was a story about some kittens that were found abandoned in a box, and I subconsciously named the golden, blue-eyed one Louis.

  
**From: Grimmy**   


**i cld b thr in 2 hrs.**

Laughing, I felt my eyelids becoming heavy. I hadn’t really slept well since the fight with Louis, and it was really taking a toll on me.

  
**To: Grimmy**   


**Yeah, yeah. You know you can’t leave. Alexa is coming by, remember?**

  
**From: Grimmy**   


**yeh i hvnt cn hr in yrs. srry bby**

Closing my eyes, I let the sleep take over, and, without replying to Nick, I fell unconscious quickly.

\----

It was a few days later. I was sitting on the windowsill, staring out into the snowstorm. The clock was being painfully loud, but I just couldn’t tear my eyes away. My lids were beginning to get heavy, and I was about to let sleep take me when his face flashed in my mind. I blinked awake, sighing loudly and repeating the process all over.

“Harry,” came Mum’s voice, but I wasn’t able to look at her; my sight was stuck outside. “Harry, what’s bugging you?”

Before I could think, I spoke: “It’s his birthday.”

She was almost as surprised as I was, but leaned in. “Who’s birthday, love?”

“My, uh, friend Louis’. He’s twenty two today,” I blushed, feeling my face heat up. “I met him at uni.”

“Why is it bothering you so much?” Mum sighed, sitting next to me and rubbing my shoulder. “You texted him, right?”

“Uh, no…” turning away from the window, I wanted to change the subject, but knew I was in too deep. “We kinda had a fight, which is why I came back early.”

“Aww, babe,” she sighed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “That’s why you’re upset. You should call and wish him a happy birthday, maybe apologize.”

“I guess,” shrugging, I closed my eyes. “I’d sleep better tonight, that’s for sure.”

“Do it, darling. Then get to bed, it’s Christmas Eve!” Mum smiled, standing up and stretching. “Otherwise Santa won’t come.”

“Mom, I’m 19,” I laughed, but kissed her goodnight and climbed the stairs. Once in my room and with the door closed, I flopped down on my bed and reached for my mobile.

While it was ringing, I was thinking of the worst things that could happen; he could never forgive me. That was my largest fear at the moment.

“H’llo?” came a voice that was definitely not Louis’. “Hullo, who is it?”

“I’m, uh, Harry,” I stammered, gripping the blanket. “Is Louis there?”

“Oh! You’re Harry! Curly! Hey Lou, it’s the guy you fancy!” He said with a bit of a slurred nature, obviously wasted. My face pinkened, but I didn’t say anything. “Lou is so into you, man, you should hook up. Like, for real.”

“I, uh,”

“Jesus christ Stan give me my phone give it here!” I heard, before the phone made a loud noise that sounded a little bit like it hitting the floor. “I can’t believe you said that Stan oh my god he hates me why would you tell him- Hello?”

“Hi, Louis,” Biting back a laugh, I found myself grinning into the phone. “Is now a bad time?”

“No, no! It’s fine, hi,” he flustered, and I could hear footsteps in the background before a door clicked shut. “Sorry, my friend Stan is super drunk.”

“He’s over for your birthday, right?” I grinned, drawing circles into the comforter. “22, right? Happy birthday.”

“Thanks, Curly,” he breathed, his voice carrying a grin. “So, uh, I’m really sorry about how I was acting.”

“I should be the one apologizing. I snapped at you unreasonably.”

“No, I was being a little shit to everyone. You really snapped me out of it, Curly. I’m really sorry.”

“Hey,” I teased, rolling onto my back and beaming at the dark. “How about we spend the night together, as soon as we both get back from the holidays?”

“I’d like that. I really would,” he said, making me blush.

“Get back to your birthday party, Louis. I’ll text you in the morning.”

“Sleep well, Curly.”

As soon as the phone turned off, I reached over and clicked my lamp off, engulfing my room in darkness. A smile was playing at my face, not going away despite whatever I tried to do. I fell asleep to the thought of Louis, holding me in his arms.

 

\----

“Thanks mom,” I smiled, waving at her and Gems as they drove off. Turning on my heel and zipping my parka up, I exhaled into the snow and watched my breath spiral into the air. Walking back through the campus, I noticed just how few people there were, as they were still home for the holidays. Kicking the snow around with my favorite brown boots, I shivered, despite wearing three layers under my coat.

“Hey, Haz!” A voice called, and an arm wrapped around my waist. “You’re back early.”

“Niall!” I smiled, wrapping my arms in a hug. “Why are you still here?”

“Snowstorm kept my flight from leaving. Spent this Christmas with Josh,” he shrugged, walking with me. “I’ll go back as soon as the snow melts.”

“You should’ve called me,” taking him into the dorm, I followed him up the stairs to my room. “I would’ve come back to pick you up. My family would’ve loved to meet you.”

He laughed, letting me unlock the door and entering. “Well, maybe next time I get stranded in London.”

We both took off our jackets, hanging them from a bar I had set up after the first snow; putting towels underneath to keep the floor from being damaged, I organized our cold-weather gear in the most effective way possible.

“So, Harry, why did you leave early anyways?” he asked, wrapping himself up in a blanket. “You missed a ton of stuff in class.”

“Drama with Lou,” I sighed, laying down next to him and snuggling. “We got everything sorted, though, so we’re all okay.”

“Because of his sulking?” the blond asked, sharing the comforter with me. “Liam said you talked to him, yeah?”

“Well, uh, I never actually told you, but uh,” pulling down my sweater sleeve, I showed him my TiMER. “My soul mate killed himself when I first got it, so I’ve been living with this since I was fourteen.”

“Oh Harry,” Niall sobbed, burying his face into my shoulder. I ran my fingers through his hair, surprised at this reaction. “I- you should’ve told me, I’m sorry,” he gasped, crying.

“I didn’t realize it would upset you this much,” I said, holding him tight. “I just- please calm down, Ni.”

He sniffled, wiping his face on his sleeve. “I’m…. wow. I’m sorry,” the blond mumbled, pulling away from me just a little. “I feel really bad, Harry. I wish I could do something.”

“I can deal with it,” wiping his tears with my finger, I pressed a soft kiss to his temple. “I’ve been living with it for years now, so I don’t even think about it.”

“That’s why you left early?” he pouted. “Because Louis was being obnoxious about losing his?”

“You’re sharp,” I smiled, twirling his hair. “That’s exactly why. I snapped at him before leaving though, so I really felt horrible.”

“He’ll forgive you,” the irishman grinned, sitting up. “He always will. You’re Harry, after all.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Furrowing my brows as I propped myself up on my elbows. “How does being me make Lou forgive me?”

“He’s in love with you, dummy,” Niall rolled his eyes, turning to face me. “He’s so in love with you, I can’t believe you never noticed.”

My cheeks turned a bright pink, and I fell back on the mattress while covering my face with my hands. “Horan!” I stressed, obviously embarrassed. “He is so not!”

“Do you really- wow- are you for real? You never realized?” he teased, flopping down on my chest. “Louis- I swear to god, Harry, you are an idiot. Louis is head over heels for you. He’d literally jump in front of a bus for you!”

“Stop! Niall!” I giggled, shaking my head back and forth. “Stop teasing me like this!”

“You like him too!” the blond exclaimed, punching my arm playfully. “I told him, but he wouldn’t believe me!”

“I know,” peeking out from behind my fingers, I batted my eyes at him. “He thought I hated him.”

“You told him otherwise, right?”

“Well, uh, not really. I suggested it, though,” With a shrug, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “We’re going to sleep together as soon as he gets back.”

“Little too much info, mate,” Niall scrunched his face, sticking his tongue out.

“Oh my god!” I exclaimed, slapping his back. “I meant like, cuddling next to each other! During the night! While we’re asleep! You’re such a pervert!”

He laughed loudly, covering us with the comforter. “Suuure!”

  
  


\----

I blew a tower of air into the sky, watching it mingle with the snow falling. Adjusting my beanie quickly before sticking my hands back in my pocket, I shivered from the cold. At 2 degrees C, it was one of the coldest days I had experienced at Uni. I had to switch to a pair of steel-toed boots to protect my feet, so I felt comfortable kicking the snow around as I wandered around the campus.

Hearing high-pitched giggles, I stopped and turned to look at a bunch of young girls throwing snowballs at each other. With a smile on my face, I shook my head a little and continued walking. It had been a few days since I got back, and I had taken a stroll around the campus every day so far.

I almost fell forward when something impacted the back of my head, before feeling ice falling down the back of my collar. Catching myself and turning to see who it was, I noticed the four girls staring at me with wide eyes, the tallest one stuck in a position of throwing and another one ducking. Rolling my eyes, I jogged over to where they were playing.

“I-I’m really sorry,” The tallest stammered, holding her hands up. “I was aiming for Felicite- I’m really, really sorry.”

Letting out a laugh, I reached down, grabbed some snow, and lobbed it at her. “You brought this on you!” I grinned, earning a scream followed by giggles.

The two younger girls- they looked like twins- immediately joined my side, throwing poorly-made snowballs at what I assumed was their older sisters. While getting pelted, the older girls quickly returned blows.

After a few carefully aimed ones to my face and crotch, I finally fell over, losing my hat in the process. One of them started covering my stomach with snow, and the others joined in quickly.

Laughing together, I sat up quickly, splattering snow on the girls, earning loud squeals. With a grin, I got up onto my feet, but was almost soaking wet from the melted ice.

“C’mon,” one of the twins giggled, grabbing on my left hand. “We have blankets in the car.”

“You shouldn’t invite strangers over,” I sighed, extending my right hand for the other twin to grab.

“So introduce yourself,” the oldest giggled.

“Sassy.” Rolling my eyes, I found myself reminded of Louis. “I’m Harry.”

“Well, Harry,” the oldest pulled her damp hair into a bun. “I’m Lottie. This is Fizzy,” she gestured to her sister, “and that’s Daisy and Phoebe.”

“Twins, right?” I smiled, holding their hands tighter. “How old?”

“We’re eight!” Phoebe exclaimed, dragging me into the parking lot. “Our brother is unpacking his stuff from the holidays, and Mum is helping, so we were playing around.”

“Yeah?” Letting the older girls unlock a van, I helped the twins into the trunk. “I wonder if I know him.”

“He’s a senior this year!” Fizzy(although I really doubt that was her real name) grinned, throwing a couple of blankets over us.

“Probably not, then,” I laughed, making sure the rest of the girls were covered before wrapping myself up. “I’m just a freshman, personally. Haven’t really met a lot of people.”

“So how old are you, Harry?” Lottie smiled, moving some boxes around to sit down.

“19, almost twenty.”

“And you’re only a freshman?” she furrowed her brow, her facial expression reminiscent of my caramel-haired crush. “Did you get held back?”

“Nah, I took a break year to pursue a singing career,” shuffling my hair before putting my beanie back on. “Obviously it didn’t go anywhere, since I’m here now.”

“Can we hear you sing?” Daisy giggled, hanging off one arm.

“Yeah, please?” Phoebe agreed, hanging off the other.

With a laugh, I shrugged. “Sure, I guess. What do you want me to sing?”

“Whatever you want!” Daisy smiled.

Biting my lip nervously, I let out a breath before singing, “Now you were standing there, right in front of me. I hold on, it’s getting harder to breath,” Closing my eyes to calm down, I imagined Louis, the first time I had ever seen him. The way his feathery bangs laid against his forehead, the way his blue eyes crinkled into a smile. “All of a sudden, these lights are blinding me, I never noticed how bright they would be-e-e.” His small but strong body, holding me when we shared a bed. “I saw in the corner, there was a photograph. No doubt in my mind it’s a picture of you. It lies all alone in it’s bed of broken glass,” The little stubble he had on his chin in the mornings, but refused to shave until after breakfast. “This bed was never made for two-o-o.”

My mind snapped to him crying, curling over his wrist. “I’ll keep my arms, wide, open.” Sobbing into his hands. “I’ll keep my arms, wide ope-e-en.” Swallowing a lump in my throat, I continued. “Don’t let me, Don’t let me, don’t let me go, cause I’m tired of feeling alone.”

“Very nice, Curly,” a male voice said, snapping my eyes open. I blinked a couple times, staring up at a very familiar face.

“Lou?” mumbling his name, I quickly stood up and took the blanket off from around my shoulders. “I- uh- hi.”

“I see you met my sisters,” he smiled, his eyes crinkling, captivating me completely. “It’s only a little weird that you were singing to them, without ever meeting them before. You’ve never even sung to me, Curly.”

“I, uh-” I stammered, but was saved by the twins.

“We had a snowball fight!” Daisy exclaimed, gesturing wildly.

“Harry lost!” Phoebe added, pulling at my sleeves.

“He got covered with snow,” Lottie put in, coming to my rescue as well. “so we brought him back here to dry off a little.”

“In my car?” The woman, who I assumed was Miss Tomlinson, sighed, shaking her head lightly. “At least you’re in the trunk.”

“Uh, hello Ma’am,” I smiled, reaching my hand out for her to shake. “I’m Harry, I live in the room down the hall from Louis.”

She beamed at me, reaching forward and pulling me into a hug. “So you’re Harry,” she said. “Louis talks about you a lot. Call me Jay, dear.”

“Okay, Jay,” returning the hug briefly, I stammered out. “Sorry that your first impression of me was my singing to your children, that must’ve been creepy.”

“I thought it was nice,” Fizzy interrupted from behind us. “You’ve got a great voice.”

“She’s right, you know,” Lou smiled, patting my back before giving me a quick hug. “Sing to me more often.”

Blushing softly, I shrugged as an answer. The look he gave me literally made my heart melt, but I forced myself not to react. “You look cold, Boobear,” I teased, taking off my scarf and wrapping it around his neck.

The girls made some sort of cooing noise, making me turn to look at them. They were whispering to each other, and, as I turned back to Louis, his face was pinker than it was a moment ago.

“Come on, Louis,” Jay sighed, scooting boxes to the edge. “Just one more trip, then you and Harry can catch up.”

“Do you want me to help?” I stammered, reaching for the car, but my wrist was grabbed by the caramel-haired boy.

“That’s alright, curly,” he grinned. “You get to know my sisters. They’ve been begging to meet you.”

Nodding, I watched him and his mother each grab a box and head back towards the dorm, but as soon as they were out of earshot, the girls started bombarding me with questions.

“Are you and Louis dating?”

“Do you like Louis?”

“Have you and Louis kissed?

“Are you guys going to get married?”

Stuttering, I finally managed to get out, “We’re just friends, I swear!” but was drowned out by the girls throwing theories at each other. “Do you girls always assume Lou’s friends are snogging him?”

“He never stops talking about you!” Lottie groaned, laying back in the trunk. “Every other sentence was about ‘oh, Harry did this’ or ‘Harry thinks this’, or even ‘Harry is really cute when blah blah blah.’ It’s obnoxious.”

“Should you really be telling me this?” I laughed, punching her leg playfully.

“You deserve to know,” Fizzy grinned. “If he’s obnoxious about something, we blast it to the world. You think he’d learn, but never does.”

“What are you telling him now?” The caramel-haired boy sighed, crossing his arms in front of us.

“Just that you’re obsessed with me,” I stuck my tongue out, earning a flush on his face.

“What?!” he flustered, slapping his hands over my ears. Muffled, I could make out, “why would you tell him that?”

“You didn’t stop talking about him!”

“Dummy.”

“I, uh, can hear you still.” He removed his hands at that, rolling his eyes.

“No hugs for you guys, then.” Louis scrunched his nose, pretending to be hurt.

“Louis,” Jay warned, rubbing his back. “Give your sisters a hug. We’re leaving, babe.”

He hugged his sisters, one at a time. On his face was one of the gentlest smile I’d seen, and he gave each of them a sloppy kiss on the cheek. They each decided to hug me as well, despite knowing me for less than twenty minutes.

“Do come visit,” Jay smiled, embracing me quickly. “I’ll make Louis drag you down sometime.”

“I’d love to come. Your daughters are absolutely lovely,” with a mischievous grin, I added, “Where did Lou go wrong?”

“Hey.”

We all laughed, before the caramel-haired man and I stepped back, waving at the van as it drove away. We stood in the snow, watching the car disappear around a corner.

The snow surrounded us, and I glanced over at him. His cheeks were pink, assumedly from the cold weather. He looked over at me, a smile on his face. “Hey,” he breathed, reaching over and holding my hand.

“Hey,” I replied, gripping his hand tightly. “I’m glad you’re back.” Tugging at his arm, I started walking back to the dorm.

“I’m glad to be back,” Louis said, keeping up with me. “I missed you guys.”

“It’s still only me,” with a shrug, I entwined our fingers, looking up into the snow. “Liam is at Zayn’s house until next week. They visited each other’s families during the holidays.”

“That’s really cute,” he chuckled, kicking the snow in front of us. “They’re so good together.”

“If it wasn’t for them, I would’ve never met you,” I grinned, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “They’re perfect.”

Blushing at me, Louis returned the kiss, pressing it to my jaw. “You’re perfect,” he whispered, opening the door to the dorm for me. I thanked him, walking up the stairs to our floor.

“Your room or mine?”

“What, already trying to bed me?” He laughed, leading me down the hall to his room. “Come on, I already turned the heat on.”

Taking off our jackets and boots, we both shivered before getting underneath a blanket. “Wanna watch a movie?” I asked, wrapping my arm around him and snuggling into his head.

“Sure, babe,” the blue-eyed boy smiled, handing me the remote. “Choose anything we have on Netflix.”

“Oooh,” clicking on the tv and opening up the list, I scrolled through his options. “Love, Actually! My favorite.”

“I should’ve known you were a sap,” he laughed, leaning against my chest. “I’ve never seen this movie.”

“Then shhh, just watch.”

We layered pillows against the wall, leaning against them. He rested his head against my chest, laying his hand on my thigh gently, rubbing circles into the jeans. I pressed a soft kiss into his hair, humming softly.

He lifted his head up, smiling at me before kissing my jaw gently. “You’re my best friend,” he whispered, nuzzling closer against me.

With my face turning a bright red, I smiled and replied, “You too, darling.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

Once classes started back up, Louis and I were seemingly attached at the hip.

“So, Curly,” the caramel-haired boy whispered, holding my hand across the table. “What are you getting?”

“I was thinking of the tacos, yeah? What about you?” I replied, rubbing a circle on his thumb.

“The burrito,” he shrugged, breaking his grip to point at the item on the menu. “I’m not used to Mexican Restaurants, actually.”

“Well,” Grimmy stressed, grabbing my wrists and bringing them back to my side of the table. “The burrito is very good. As is the tacos.”

Feeling my face heat up, I nodded, listening to Liam and Zayn talk to Grimmy about their recent date. Biting down on my lip, I only glanced up when I felt something- some _one_ \- kick my leg. Louis had a shy smile on his lips, and I replied by rubbing his ankle with my foot.

“Jesus christ, you two,” my old baby-sitter sighed exasperatedly, obviously noticing the way we were grinning at each other. “If you guys want to go be alone, just say something.”

“We- uh- no,” the blue-eyed man stammered, looking away from me to Nick. “We’re here to be with you guys, yeah?”

“If you can keep your eyes off each other,” he snapped, standing up and leaving the booth. “Don’t bother texting me, Harold.”

Aghast, I watched him storm out, get in his car, and drive off. With tears in my eyes, I opened my mouth several times to say something, but closed it each time.

“That was-” Zayn started, but shook his head.

“Normal Grimshaw,” Louis shrugged, obviously not phased.

Shuddering, I fought back tears but forced a shrug. “I guess we’re just four for lunch,” I said, trying to be nonchalant.

\----

“Hey, Curly,” Louis smiled, catching my hand in the hallway a few days later. “Do you want to get take-out and watch the football game?”

“U-uh,” I stammered, putting my phone ( **No New Messages** ) back into my pocket. “Sorry, I’m- I really just want to stay in tonight.”

His eyes scanned me for a second, before he hesitantly let my wrist go. “Okay,” he mumbled, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you tomorrow in class, yeah?”

Nodding briefly, I watched him turn and walk away, blending into the crowd of people. Letting out a sigh, I spun on my heel and exited the building. With a quick walk to my dorm, I climbed the stairs and unlocked my dorm room, thankful that Zayn was in class for another few hours.

I dropped my bag and fell backwards on the mattress, opening my phone and going through the inbox.

**No New Messages**

Tears stung at my eyes, but I simply typed up a text.

**To: Grimmy**

**Nick… Please talk to me? I don’t understand what I did to upset you. Please. I’m really sorry, whatever it was.**

After it sent, I set my phone next to me and rolled away, hiding my face in my hands. No matter how many messages I sent him (and I had sent upwards of fifty in the last three days alone), he simply would not reply.

It had taken a toll on my friendship with Louis; I was afraid to be near him, since that was, for some reason, the reason Nick was mad at me, after all.

With a tear rolling down my cheek, I buried my face into a pillow, laying on my stomach and sobbing. I had officially lost both of my best friends over something that I didn’t quite understand.

\----

Zayn came back in a few hours later, only to hold me for a while before having to go out to dinner with Liam. He knew, of course, everything I was going through, but he didn’t know what I should do.

I stumbled my way into the bathroom, but quickly buried my head in one of the toilets and puked everything in my stomach up. Everything I’ve been stressing about has caused me to stop eating as much as I did, and I couldn’t keep what little I did down. Liam had been so worried about my health that he came over twice a day to make sure I was eating, which, in turn, had Louis babying me as often as I would let him.

Pulling my hair back away from my face, I ended up dry heaving for a few moments before calming my body into a sitting position. Wiping my mouth on a piece of toilet paper, I slowly got back onto my feet and threw the paper in the toilet before flushing. I wiped the tears out of my eyes while exiting the stall, running into someone right in front of me.

“S-sorry,” I mumbled, backing up while looking at the boy.

“Curly? Was that you throwing up?” Louis said, taking my hands. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah,” I stammered, forcing a smile at the caramel-haired man. “Just a little under the weather- I’m going to go back to bed.”

He nodded reluctantly, pulling back and letting me sneak by him. I got to the sink, filling a little plastic cup and gargling my mouth out. Spitting in the sink, I wiped my face on my sleeve before turning to grin- weakly- at the blue-eyed boy. “See? All better.”

“Why are you avoiding me?” he mumbled, not meeting my eyes, but obviously tearing up. “What did I- what did I do?”

Dumbstruck, I found myself shaking. “I.. It’s not you…” I muttered, my lower jaw trembling. “Well, maybe it is- I don’t get it.”

“So talk to me,” Louis whispered, looking at me with tears in his eyes. “I need to know, Curly. We need to talk, you can’t just pull away from people.”

“We- us- _you and I_ \- we piss off Grimmy,” I said, covering my face with my sleeves. “I- he’s my longest friend, he’s been with me for years, and I need him in my life. I’m really sorry, Louis, but…”

“I get it,” he sighed, cutting me off. “I really get it, Curly.” Punctuated with a shrug, he turned and left the bathroom, causing me to turn into a sobbing mess, falling to my knees.

\----

Late into the night, I was sitting on my bunk, crying into a pillow. Zayn had popped in to hand me some food and a drink; he had told me he was spending the night with Liam. I know I had pushed them all away but I still felt so alone.

My phone started ringing, causing me to blink twice. No one ever calls my cell; Everyone I talked to would come to meet me personally.

“Hello?” I whispered into the phone, not even looking at the Caller I.D.

“ _Hey, Haz_ ,” came a voice I recognized immediately.

“Nick? I- hey,” quickly wiping my eyes with my sleeve, I tried to straighten myself up and calm my voice. “Wh- hi.”

“ _Look, I really need to apologize for how I’ve been acting. I’ve been an actual dick to you, for no good reason._ ”

“It’s- It’s alright.”

“ _No, it isn’t. I’ve been ignoring you, my best friend. I was just worried that I was losing you to Tomlinson. I reckon I just freaked_.”

“Lose me?” I chuckled, laying back. “Never.”

“ _Yeah, I know. Tomlinson called and pretty much begged me to talk to you. Apparently you’ve been throwing up in the bathroom_?”

“I’ve been really stressed recently, it’s not your fault,” lowering my voice, I continued, “well, not completely.”

“ _See? I told you. I made a huge mistake, and you suffered for it. I’m sorry._ ”

“Wait a moment… Louis called you?”

“ _Yeah, about three hours ago. I really didn’t know how to talk to you, so it took me a while. He called and said that you really love me and you need me in your life_?”

With tears in my eyes, I choked back, “I said that to him. I said that I need you in my life and if he is ruining that then I choose you.”

“ _I love you, Haz. You don’t need to chose either of us anymore, okay? I’m sorry. I really am._ ”

“I’ve forgiven you long before you even started apologizing, Nick,” I whispered, crying into the pillow. “You’re my best friend, how could I not?”

“ _Hang up and go cuddle with loverboy, okay? Sleep well, darling._ ”

\----

I snuck down the hall, before unlocking Louis’ room and entering. It was late, so I was desperate to not wake anyone. The caramel-haired boy had a small lamp on in his bunk, as he normally read before bed. Turning it on and sitting on the edge of his mattress, I leaned over and pressed a sloppy kiss to his nose, waking him up.

“mm, Curly?” he mumbled, shielding his eyes with one hand while caressing my cheek with the other. “What do I owe this pleasure?”

“For talking to Grimmy,” I smiled, hugging him tightly and pecking his cheek for good measure.

“Anything for my favorite,” Louis smiled, wrapping his arms loosely around my waist for a few minutes. Before I excused myself back to my own room, I kissed all over his face a few times. Going back to my room, I tucked myself into my comforters and closed my eyes.

\----

Covered in sweat, I shot upwards in bed. The room was dark, causing me to clamp my eyes closed just in case. Convinced someone was watching me, I started shaking back and forth almost to the point of hurting myself. After being in that position for a few minutes, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, standing up and escaping into the hall. Stumbling over to the bathroom, I was overly excited to click the lights on.

“Ow,” a voice whined, causing my eyes to open. I was ever glad to see Liam squinting in front of me. He was wearing plain black boxers with his favorite t-shirt(one he wore all the time and Zayn was beginning to complain about), but still looked comforting. “What’s the deal? You’re never awake at night.”

“I had a nightmare,” I confessed, shuffling over and wrapping my arms around his waist.

“Tell me, babe,” he whispered, returning the hug.

“I was in a public bathroom, and I got this vision of this guy without a face- well, he had a face,” I stammered, burying my nose into the crook of his neck. “But it was plasticy with no imperfections or eyebrows and it was really terrifying- and he was looking under the stall, so I got up and I was leaving the bathroom when the guy actually appeared and oh my god, I was terrified.”

“Shh,” the brunette mumbled, rubbing my back. “Come on, you’re gonna stay with us tonight.” With that, he slung one arm around my shoulder and walked me to his room, opening it and climbing on his own bunk. As I began to climb the ladder, he raised his eyebrows. “You’re not going to cuddle into Louis?”

“Well, uh..”

“I’m not going to be insulted if you want to sleep with him, haz,” he rolled his eyes, pulling his own blanket up. “Trust me, I know how you two feel about each other.”

Blushing profusely, I climbed back onto the floor before laying down next to the sleeping boy. Louis automatically wrapped an arm around my waist, seemingly searching for body heat. With a smile toying at my lips, I buried my face into his neck.

“Night, Harry,” Liam whispered, earning a soft purr in response.

\----

The next morning I blinked my eyes open to a gentle face, smiling next at me. Curling my head into his hand, I returned a sleepy smile to Louis.

“I’m at least three percent sure you weren’t there when I fell asleep,” he teased, rubbing a circle into my cheek. “So was I dreaming the part that you left, or the part that you stayed?”

“I had a nightmare, and ran into Liam in the bathroom,” I shrugged, curling closer to him. “He invited me to cuddle, but I preferred to sleep with you.”

With a soft giggle, he leaned in and kissed my forehead. “You’re always welcome in my bed, Curly.”

“You two are loud,” Zayn groaned from the top bunk, throwing his hand over the side of his bed and waving his fingers at us. “Go back to sleep.”

Louis and I giggled at each other, before snuggling into each other’s arms. He whispered into my ear, “You should always sleep in my bed.”

“Except for when you’re sleeping in my bed,” I teased, pecking his cheek maybe a little too close to his lips.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter being so short, and sorry for the delay in updates! So many things have been happening in my outernet life that I haven't had time to write.

“ **Matchmakers™ are proud to announce an update to their Internal Computer System** ,” the news reporter said, her voice coming from the television. Zayn gripped my hand, while Nick had his arm around my shoulders. “ **This update will cause the TiMERs to recalculate in the event of your Soul Mate dying. While many are worried about possible flaws in the system, CEO Des Styles promises that it has been tested several times.** ”

“Wait a moment,” Josh turned to me. “Des _Styles_?”

“Yeah, my dad owns the company,” I shrugged, turning up the volume. “Now shhh.”

“ **The update will be effective as of midnight tonight.** ”

Nick took the remote from me, turning off the tv as the woman changed the subject to some local pizzeria. “You never told me that your dad was _Des Styles_. He’s a legend,” Grimmy stressed, slapping my shoulder.

“That explains how you got the record check,” Louis said, reaching over and shuffling my hair. “And why you’re studying the Hormonal Science or whatever.”

“I’m supposed to take over the family business,” Leaning into his touch, I closed my eyes. “That’s the reason I had to cut my music career.”

“Woah woah _woah_ ,” Niall interrupted, grabbing Josh’s leg and leaning forward to look at me. “Music career?”

Rolling my eyes, I leaned back. I was about to explain when the caramel-haired boy cut in; “He’s an amazing singer. He serenaded my sisters and _wow_. His voice was brilliant.”

With a light blush on my cheeks, I leaned back and made eye contact with him. Zayn had told us to sit on opposite sides of the couch- something about not wanting us to be obnoxiously sappy- but we were still close enough to touch each other. “Thanks, babe,” I mouthed, before blowing a kiss.

Zayn rolled his eyes, sighing while Niall was rambling about some gig they had, and suggesting I should be there or something. I wasn’t listening, as my eyes were locked onto Louis’. We were smiling fondly at each other, just gazing into each other’s eyes.

“-ou think, Hazza?” the irishman said, snapping my attention away from the caramel-haired boy.

“Huh?” I asked, feeling my cheeks heat up. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“You should sing at our next performance!” he repeated, not even phased by my lack of attention. “Right, Josh?”

“I’d be fine with that,” the drummer shrugged, texting on his phone. “It’d be a nice change from us trying to harmonize.”

“If you can drag yourself away from loverboy long enough,” Grimmy snorted, rubbing my upper arm.

“Hey!” I hissed, blushing harder and punching him in the side. “Shut up about that.”

“Only three hours until midnight,” Liam said, changing the subject obviously. “You two are going to get a chance to start over in _three hours_.”

“Way to get us nervous,” Louis mumbled, playing with his fingers. “What are we going to do for three hours?”

“We could watch a movie,” Niall shrugged, stealing the remote and turning the tv back on. “I’ve heard _Carrie_ is good.”

“Not another bloody horror movie,” the puppy-dog eyed boy groaned, resting his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “We’re not watching any horror.”

“Well, we’re not watching the damn _Toy Story_ series again,” Zayn laughed, pressing a kiss to Liam’s temple. “Why don’t we just watch some television?”

\-----

With midnight only a few minutes away, Zayn turned off the television (cutting off the dramatic reveal in the show we were watching) and said, “Well, this is it.”

Niall grabbed my hand and turned it over to look at my wrist. With a smile on his face, he said, “Your TiMER is going to start up, Harry!” The blond reached and patted my knee. “For the first time in four years, you’ll have a countdown!”

“We both get a second chance,” I whispered, glancing over at Louis for the millionth time tonight.

“Hopefully it’s Lou,” Nick rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. “Then you guys can stop pining over each other.”

The other boys started laughing, but I found myself turning bright red. “It’s not nice to tease them,” Liam snorted, patting Lou’s knee.

“Shut up,” the caramel-haired boy said indignantly, punching his roommate gently.

Zayn started to say something, but was cut off by my phone ringing. Standing up and grabbing it out of my pocket, I strolled over to the balcony while picking up. “H’llo?” I asked, feeling the eyes on my back.

“ _Hi, Harry_ ,” came a very familiar voice.

“Dad?” Pushing curls behind my free ear, I lowered my voice into a whisper. “Why- I- what’s going on?”

“ _You heard about the update, right_?”

“Yeah, me and my friends were watching the news- it starts in like a minute, right?”

“ _I worked specifically on this for you, Harry. I really want you to fall in love_.”

“I have, dad,” I replied, glancing at Louis’ reflection in the window. “I fell in love for myself.”

“ _Now you can know, 100%, if she’s your one_.”

“I’m gay,” covering my eyes with one hand, I sighed into the phone. “I’ve always been gay, dad.”

“ _Well, now you can find out if he’s your one, then. No big deal, it goes both ways_.”

“Harry, 60 seconds,” Zayn called from the couch.

“Dad, I have to go. I’ll call you in the morning, okay? I love you.”

“ _Good luck, Harry._ ”

Ending the call and rushing back to my seat, I immediately gripped Nick’s hand and shuddered. This was it. My heart was beating so loud I was worried the other boys could hear it.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4…” They counted together, causing me to clamp my eyes shut. “3… 2… 1!”

The room filled with chiming, the activation noise I had heard so many times from sitting in my father’s office. Before my eyes could open, hands slapped over my face and another pair stood me up and led me out of the room.

“W-what?” I asked, getting nervous. A coat was thrown over my shoulders all half-hazardly, barely getting a chance before I was forced down the stairs. “What’s- What’s going on?”

When no answer came, I found myself being thrust into the cold air. Letting out a shudder of surprise, I reached blindly forwards. Despite my complaints, questions, and cries, the boys were quietly dragging me along.

When I was finally able to stop, they immediately pushed me into what felt like a car. After I was buckled in by a force to my left, the hands left my eyes and I promptly turned to look at my wrist.

0000d:23h:53m:03s

Suddenly hard for breath, I grabbed at my chest. Not only was this the first time had I seen numbers in a long time, but they were so close to zero.

“Y’alright?” Niall’s voice came, rubbing my shoulder. I turned to look at him, noticing for the first time him, Nick, and Zayn all in the car, watching me.

“Who is it?” came out first, my eyes wide. “Is it Louis?”

None of their expressions changed, just Zayn turning to start his car. Nick let out a sigh, before straightening to look forwards.

“That’s not an answer. Is he? Why did you guys take me? Where are we going?”

“We’re going back to my flat,” Nick answered, reaching back from the passenger’s seat and rubbing my knee. “You’ve only got tomorrow- well, today- to make yourself presentable for your soul mate.”

“Don’t I look fine?” I mumbled, sitting back and smoothing out my shirt. Okay, it was wrinkly. And maybe a little stained.

“We’ll make you look amazing, Harry,” Niall grinned, rubbing my shoulder.

“Like you’re on Fashion Week,” Grimmy laughed, pulling his hand back from my leg and pointing to Zayn where to turn. “There’s this really pretty suit I saw last week, but it was expensive.”

“Trust me,” Rolling my eyes and leaning my head against the back of the seat. “Daddy won’t be against giving me some money if I ask. He’s got enough for a damn suit.”

“This is it,” Nick said to everyone, as Zayn pulled his car into a parking space. “Yeah, this is my flat. I only have one extra room, so who wants to bunk with me?”

“I will,” I offered, unbuckling and getting out of the car. “We go back a ways.”

“Sounds good to me,” Zayn shrugged, getting out and locking the car after everyone. “Niall and I can snuggle, Liam won’t get too jealous,” he laughed, following Nick up the steps.

The tallest started to unlock his flat, opening it and letting us all in. Being there once or twice before, I immediately walked to the couch, sitting down and admiring my wrist again.

0000d:23h:37m:14s

I was giggling to myself, my heart beating so loudly that I heard it in my ears. This was amazing, being so close to meeting my soul mate.

“It’s brilliant,” Sitting next to me, my black-haired roommate rubbed my back. “It’s absolutely exciting. Meeting your soulmate is, like, the best thing that can happen to you.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t die again,” I joked, brushing my curls out of my forehead. “That could be bad.”

“Don’t jinx yourself,” Nick sighed, tossing his shoe at me. “C’mon, let’s get you all to bed. It’s past midnight, and you need good sleep.” He reached for my arm, helping me off his sofa and dragging us all down the hall. “Blondie and the quiet one can sleep in here,” he teased, pointing towards to an extra room. “The loo is right there if you need it. Y’know, go wee.” he wrapped his arm around my waist. “We’re across the hall, so sleep well you two.”

As soon as the door closed, Nick started to take his tee off, exposing his bare chest. “Last chance to have hot sex with me,” he grinned, throwing his shirt into a pile in the corner. “If you ever wanted to, now is the chance.”

“Maybe just a kiss,” I laughed, removing my own shirt and- folding it nicely- set it on his dressers. “I do want to stay a virgin for my soul mate- who, by the way, may or may not be Louis. Why won’t you guys tell me?”

Letting out a laugh, he shook his head and threw his jeans into the pile. “You have to wait, Harry. That’s the whole point of the TiMER!”

“I think it is him, and you just want to torture me,” I mumbled, stripping down into just boxers and falling on the bed.

“Mmmm,” he bit his lip, looking over at me. “I don’t know,” he shrugged, laying next to me.

“So he’s not?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Shut up,” I snapped, slapping his chest and rolling over. “You’re being an ass.”

Nick scooted right behind me, spooning my body. “You’re really important to me, Harry. I love you so much, and I really want your soul mate to be a good guy.”

With a smile on my face, I snuggled closer to him. “I love you too, Nick. You’re like the big brother I never had.”

He kissed the back of my head, reaching above me and turning off the lamp.

“Sleep well, love.”


	9. Chapter 9

Blinking my eyes open, I wasn’t surprised to see Niall standing over me with a glass of water and a horn.

“Don’t you dare,” I mumbled, rolling over sleepily.

“You woke up too soon,” he pouted, setting the water on the nightstand, tooting the horn once in defiance. “Get up, Nick has some plans for you.”

“Uhh,” moaning an agreement, I slowly propped myself up on my elbows. “Like what?”

After a moment of silence, he raised his eyebrows. “Obviously _not_ what he had planned for you last night.”

Immediately looking down at my chest, I noticed several small bruises scattered on my chest. Blushing heavily, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and- thankfully- had my boxers still on.

“GRIMSHAW!” I yelled, standing up and crossing my arms. The blond had sat on the bed, laughing quietly at my situation. When the door opened, I was surprised to see Zayn stumble in first.

“Be quiet, doncha? It’s early morn.” he groaned, leaning against the doorframe, eyes squinted from tiredness. “I still have a few hours left.”

“No you don’t,” Nick sang, setting his hand on Zayn’s shoulder, stopping to admire his bare chest briefly. “What’s up, Harry?” he smirked at me.

“What did you do to my body?” I demanded, pointing at the bruises individually.

Replying with a forced, exaggerated wink, he playfully fanned down his body. “It was _hot_ , Harold. You’re amazing in bed.”

“ _NICK_ ,” with my eyes widening, I sat back on the mattress, completely shocked. “You _didn’t_.”

“No, I didn’t,” he grinned. “I did leave the hickeys though. I wanted your soul mate to think that you’re a catch-” he was cut off by a pillow hitting him in the face, temporarily knocking him backwards.

“You’re an asshole,” I huffed, ignoring the laughter from besides me. “You better hope that these disappear before tomorrow night.”

“So you can have sex with your One?” Zayn sighed, chewing on the end of an unlit cigarette. “Hot, passionate sex?”

“Up your bum,” Grimmy teased, wiggling his finger between his index and thumb. “Rough and hard up your hole.”

“Shut up,” the blond groaned, throwing the other pillow at him. “Why am I the only straight person here?”

Rubbing his shoulder, I let out a laugh. “Sorry Niall, I guess you drew the unlucky straw.”

“Get over here, dummy,” Nick sighed, reaching for me. “Well, get dressed first. I have some plans for you today.”

“They better not have anything to do with these,” I groaned, pointing once more at the bruises. “Because I _will_ hurt you.”

“Nah, I’m done teasing you for now. You too, Zayn, get ready. You can smoke outside when you’re done.”

I quickly threw my shirt back on, before stealing a pair of Nick’s joggers. Using the deodorant on the dresser, I strolled into his bathroom and, after doing my business, I washed my face quickly.

Glancing at my TiMER, I felt like I was going to throw up.

0000d:15h:23m:54s

With tears of joy prickling at my eyes, I left the bathroom and joined the rest of the boys in the den.

“Mornin,” I said, sitting in one of the chairs. “What are we doing today?”

“You’re going to the spa,” Nick grinned, tossing my sneakers at me. “Get a massage, maybe a mud pack. All your daddy’s treat- don’t worry, I called him on your phone already. He also agreed to be on my radio show, which _rocks_.” Standing up and patting my shoulder as I pulled the shoes on.

“Spa?” following them out the door, I winced at the idea. “Do guys even _go_ to spas?”

“They go to this one. Male-only, completely checks out,” Zayn shrugged, getting in the passengers seat of Grimmy’s car. “I’ll be staying with you during it. Couple’s massage was cheaper,” he shrugged.

“Couple’s massage?” I furrowed my brows, buckling myself in the back. “Surely dad didn’t give a budget.”

“Nah, but I tried to make sure Grimshaw didn’t spend too much. Trying to keep your dad afloat, after all.”

Grinning, I slapped the back of Nick’s seat. “Trying to spend my millions?”

“You definitely weren’t this rich when I babysat you,” he replied, pulling out onto the main road. “Or else I would’ve charged more.”

“Mom doesn’t like to use any of his money, although Dad really doesn’t care if she does,” I shrugged, leaning back and wrapping an arm around Niall’s shoulders. “He still really likes her, as a friend I guess.”

“Here we are.” Stopping the car and getting out, Nick pointed to a large, nondescript building. “Rather close to my flat, actually. I should come here more often.”

“This looks…” staring up at the building, I raised my eyebrows. “Really, _really_ sketchy.”

“Yeah,” the blond agreed, patting my back. “Are you sure about this, Nick?”

“I’ll be with him,” Zayn jokingly threw a few punches. “I’ve trained in kickboxing, so no worries.”

“I feel so much safer,” I rolled my eyes, before reaching over and gripping his hand. “So do we have to play up this couple thing?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Nick shrugged, walking us forward. Once inside the building, we realized how beautiful it actually was; With cream walls and blue ornate details, the environment was actually quite nice. “Hey, we have an appointment for these two,” he smiled at the secretary.

“Hello,” the man behind the desk grinned, standing up and shaking his hand. “What’s the name under?”

“Couple massage for Styles,” Grimmy said, leaning on the desk and flirting with him. “That’s those two, right there.”

Raising my hand in his, Zayn let out a small grin, before letting go and signing us in. “So, now what?” the black-haired man asked, replacing his arm around my waist.

“Just down that hall, and you’ll hand this-” he put a keycard in Zayn’s empty hand- “to the man there, who will let you guys into your personal massage room.”

“Thank you, very much,” I smiled, nodding my head at the boys before letting Zayn lead me down to the security guard.

“Here you go,” my roommate said, putting the card in his hand and stopping.

“Right this way, boys,” was the response, opening a door behind him and escorting us into a large, warm, pure white lockerroom. “Strip down, put on those robes, and come back out when you’re done.”

As the door closed, I shrugged and went over to a locker. “Well, this is fun.”

“Too bad we’re not actually a couple,” he sighed, stripping his shirt off. “Otherwise this would be a great shag.”

I laughed, getting completely bare and stuffing my clothes in the small box. “Wish I was Liam?”

“Yeah, maybe just a bit. But I don’t mind spending time with you.”

“What about Grimmy and Niall? What are they doing?” turning to look at him, I accidentally got a full sight of his cock; _Wow._

Pulling on his robe as I pulled mine on, he replied, “They’re out shopping. Getting your suit or whatever they decide on.”

After rolling my eyes, I took his hand and strolled back out into the hall. “We’re ready,” I giggled, pressing a very fake kiss to Zayn’s lips. He winced a little, mostly in surprise, but smiled anyways.

“Follow me,” the man smiled, gesturing into an adjacent room. Following him down a hallway while he explained about the massages, I traced my finger along the walls, excited for the next 15 hours.

He let us into a room with two identical beds, smiling and wishing us a good time. Zayn smiled at me, leaning and pressing another very fake kiss to my lips, pulling away and taking a seat on the closer bed.

“I’m Paul, if you need anything,” he smiled, nodding at us before closing the door.

“You’re a great kisser, Harry,” Zayn chuckled, laying back on his bed. “But you’ll never be Liam.”

Laughing, I hopped up on the other bed. “Yeah, well, maybe I don’t want to be Liam. Having sex with you? Ewww.” At the glare he gave me, I grinned and laid on my side. “Although you are well-endowed. Very nice.”

Blushing heavily, he rolled over to face away from me. “Why do I do things for you?”

“Because you love me?”

“You know it.”

The door opened again, and this time, two very attractive men came in and beamed at us.

“Hello!” the first one, a ginger, said, walking over to my bed. “I’m Ivan, and I’ll be your personal Masseuse for the next hour.”

“I’m Ollie,” the other one, a tall blond, grinned, shaking hands with Zayn. He glanced between us, smiling. “You two are a cute couple. Zeroed out?”

“I am,” Zayn immediately said, raising his wrist. “But my soul mate and I have an open relationship,” he quickly lied, reaching over and rubbing my arm. “Haz and I have a special connection.”

Forcing a blush, I grabbed his hand. This was definitely the weirdest thing I had done in a long time; lying to masseuses about my non-existant sexual relations with my roommate. “I only have a little while left, and so we’re spending one last day together.”

“Very nice,” Ivan grinned, rubbing some lotion between his hands. “Please take off your robes and lay on your stomach,” he said, leaning over and putting some powder in a small bowl.

Doing so, I quickly laid flat, slightly embarrassed to be naked in front of a stranger. Remembering the bruises, I let my face heat up as the ginger patted a pillow for me to rest my head on.

“Any injuries or sensitive spots I should know about?”

“I have a tense part on my shoulder blade,” I confessed, flexing one shoulder.

“I can get that out,” he smiled, rubbing his hands gently into my skin. “You can fall asleep if you want to.”

“I think I will,” Zayn yawned, obviously getting his own massage. “This is a really nice date idea, _babe_.”

“Bring Liam here sometime,” I grinned, reaching over to him and rubbing his hand softly. “Maybe I’ll bring mine too. Double date, yeah?”

“Sounds good,” he mumbled into his arms, letting out a happy moan. “God, this is brilliant.”

Sighing contently, I let Ivan pull the blanket down to just barely cover my ass, so he could have more surface area. “So Ivan,” I started, feeling him press into my back. “Have you zeroed out?”

“Yeah, actually, Ollie and I are soul mates,” he replied. “Two months since finding out, too.”

“Congrats,” Zayn muttered, high-fiving his masseuse. “Been about the same for me, actually.”

“And you’re _still_ fooling around with another?” Ollie laughed, and I turned to look at my roommate.

“Yeah, well, have you seen Harry naked? Definitely worth it,” the black-haired boy mumbled, glancing over at me. “Li doesn’t really mind as long as he gets to join once in a while.”

My face turned a bright pink, and I quickly hid it back in the pillow. I would definitely be telling Liam about this, and, hopefully, not being forced into a threesome. Ivan chuckled a little, massaging my shoulders gently.

“So how long until you zero out?” the ginger asked, moving his hands in such a way that caused me to release an involuntary moan.

“Tonight,” I replied, closing my eyes. “Tomorrow’s the big day.”

“You guys are literally spending the last day together, huh?” Ollie chuckled, making Zayn’s back pop somehow. Zayn replied with an almost orgasmic-moan, obviously feeling quite good.

“It was Zayn’s idea.” With a smile, I entwined my fingers with his, our arms hanging off the sides of the beds. “He’s always doing cute, romantic things.”

“Let’s hope your one is the same,” Ivan replied, pushing down on my shoulder blade. “You look like a guy who needs lots of constant loving.”

“He is, trust me,” Zayn smirked, squeezing my hand. “Lots of love, lots of kisses, lots of sex.”

“Shut up,” digging my nails into his palm, I earned a yelp. He gave me a look of betrayal, raising his eyebrows in shock. “You don’t just tell people that your…” I stuttered over the word, “ _boyfriend_ , is insatiable.”

“But you’re so cute,” the black-haired boy whined, giving me a wink. “Even when you’re pining over other men.”

“You punish him, right?” Ollie’s voice came, followed by another moan from Zayn. “When he goes after other men, you make sure he knows who he belongs to, yeah?”

“Ollie!” Ivan snapped, glaring at his soul mate. “You can’t ask people that.”

“I totally do,” Zayn grinned, obviously enjoying this little farce. “Make him a begging mess whenever he even looks at another guy.”

“Zayn!” Aghast, I pulled my hand away from him. “You- I- oh my god.” If I was embarrassed earlier, it had nothing on what I felt now. “Why would you _say_ that?”

“I’d love to see that,” the masseuse said, high-fiving Zayn again. “We should all get together, yeah?”

“Too bad Harry is meeting his Soul Mate tomorrow,” Ivan stressed, patting my back. “And they’re going to stop having an affair, right?”

“Right,” I replied, closing my eyes. “This is the weirdest date I’ve ever been on.”

Earning laughter from everyone, Zayn and I ended up holding hands for the rest of the hour while our massages were being finished.

“So you guys have our numbers now,” Ollie grinned, shaking Zayn’s hand before they were about to leave. “Don’t do any shagging in here, but the locker room is totally a free-for-all. Call us sometime, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Zayn replied, propping himself up on his elbows, as we were both still naked under the blanket. “We’ll have that foursome, yeah? You two and me and mine. Harry can watch,” he laughed, rubbing my shoulder.

With one last wink, the masseuses left the room, closing the door behind them. I let out a long sigh, reaching for my discarded robe with one hand.

“You’re so embarrassing,” I said, swinging my legs over the far side of the bed and standing up, my back to the brunette.

“Hey, I played along,” he laughed before getting up and reaching for his own robe. “And now Liam and I can spice up our sex life.”

“Is he going to be okay with that?” Tying the fabric around my waist, I turned and watched him tie his own.

“Yeah, probably,” he shrugged, reaching his hand out for me to take. Entwining our fingers once more, I stepped closer.

“I cannot wait until I can stop pretending to be your boyfriend,” I mumbled under my breath to him, letting him lead us back into the hall where Paul was waiting. “Hi, Mr. Paul,” smiling at him, I noticed the small smirk on his face.

“Ready to go?” He replied, gesturing down the hall. “Back to the locker room?”

“Yeah,” Zayn answered, tugging me a little closer to him before moving his hand from my own to my waist. “Yeah, we’re ready.”

“I can tell you two enjoyed your massage,” he muttered under his breath as he led us back through the white hallway. Furrowing my brow briefly before glancing down, I felt my face redden like a beat at the sight. Both of our robes were tenting just a tad, which I promptly whispered in the black-haired boy’s ear. “Come on out when you’re done,” Paul smiled, gesturing towards the door. “No rush.”

As soon as we were both in, we quickly separated. “Oh my god,” Zayn mumbled, covering his face. “I- uh- this has nothing to do with you, Harry, I swear.”

Sitting on the bench in front of my locker, I rested my elbows on my knees. “Yeah, no, I get it, uh, it’s from the massage, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, popping his metal container open. “Let’s just get dressed and pretend this never happened, yeah?”

“Maybe take a wank in the shower over there,” I muttered, grabbing a towel and leaving for one of the stalls.

A few minutes later, after thoughts of Louis’s hands trailing over my body, I was coming back to my locker with my robe half open and a towel wrapped around my hair. Zayn, however, was leaning against a wall and viciously jerking himself off; I quickly turned away and pretended I hadn’t seen anything.

After a quick disrobe, I re-entered the bathing area. Swallowing nervously, I slid down the shower stall and turned the water back on. With the water droplets running down my face, my eyes closed and let the heat surround me.

I trailed my fingers down my chest, briefly pausing to let water fall. Louis was the only thing on my mind, and I wondered what he was doing. Was he- well, was he zeroing out also? Was he my One? Were the boys pampering him? Or was he sitting on his bed, looking at his wrist, wondering where I was?

Tears stung at my eyes, but, with the droplets, it was hidden. I tilted my head to face up at the shower head.

“You still in here?” Zayn’s voice came, snapping me out of it. Quickly scrambling to my feet, I grabbed the railing and stumbled for my towel.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m just getting out,” I stammered, wrapping my hair with the towel before putting the robe back on. “You’re going to shower, right? I’ll-”

“You saw, didn’t you,” he blushed, covering his face as I nodded. “I’m so sorry, dammit.”

“You just rinse yourself. I’ll be waiting out here,” stepping out into the empty locker room, I stripped naked before carefully putting the fabric in a conveniently-placed laundry bin. After unlocking my personal locker, I dressed myself and sat down on the bench.

My hair was still soaked, but I just shook it out onto the pants and my hands. I had to admit that my back did feel tons better, and I felt like I could carry the weight of the world. (Even if I did see my room mate wanking)

“I’m done,” he said, walking by me and stopping at his own locker. “Sorry about any imagery you’re going to be stuck with.”

“Hey, whatever. It’s Liam you’re going to have to explain to,” I teased, looking away as he dropped his robe and pulled his boxers up his legs. “Explain how you and your room mate had a couple’s massage and then ended up jacking off together in the locker room.”

“We didn’t- not-” he blustered, pausing with his jeans half up his thighs. “ _Not Together_.”

“I know,” pressing a kiss to his cheek before crossing to the mirror, I ran my fingers through my hair at a futile attempt to straighten my curls. “But that’s not what he’ll believe.”

“I can only hope to god that you’re kidding.”

“Of course I’m kidding,” I laughed, coming up behind him (after he pulled his shirt back on, of course) and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I would never do anything to hurt you two.”

Rolling his eyes, he leant back into my touch and sighed. “You are a right bastard sometimes, Harold.”

“Come on, let’s not let Paul get a bad idea of us,” after pressing a kiss into his neck, I took his hand and led him back out into the main hallway. “We’re done,” I whispered, licking my lips.

“Great,” we heard from down the hall, and both of us turned to look at Niall, standing with his arms crossed. “We’ve been waiting for ten minutes. Come on, let’s get going.”

After saying respectful goodbyes, Zayn and I followed the other two back into the parking lot, immediately disconnecting our hands and sliding into the car, him in the front and myself in the back.

“So how was your date?” Nick teased, starting the car.

“Sexual,” I replied without even batting an eye. At the shocked silence, I quickly added: “Our masseuses were soul mates and they were convinced that Zayn left all the hickeys and the massages were so good and-”

“And you two got horny and fucked, yeah?” Grimmy interrupted, reaching over and patting Zayn’s leg. “It’s only normal.”

“NO,” he snapped, his face as red as mine. “We did _NOT_ fuck!”

“Well, I won’t tell Liam if you won’t,” the driver shrugged, turning into a parking lot. “Okay Harry, now it’s time for your hair cut.”

“ _HAIR CUT_ ,” Flabbergasted, I reluctantly followed him out of the car if only to stop him in his tracks. “Why am I getting a hair cut? I like my hair, and so does Louis.”

“Harry,” Niall said, grabbing my wrist. “What if it isn’t Lou? You can’t keep making your decision based off of what he likes.”

Sighing, I let them drag me in and check us in. They showed a picture to the hairdresser(a photo that they didn’t show me) before dicking off to a coffee shop down the street.

“So, Harry,” the woman cutting my hair started, soaking my locks in a tub. “Your friends mentioned that you’re getting pampered for your zero day?”

“Yeah, I’m not allowed to do anything today,” rolling my eyes, I let her pull my hair just a tad before snipping the tips off. “I have no idea how I’m going to end up looking.”

“Well, you’re in good hands,” she teased, pinning some of my hair straight up, giving her extra room to the underside of my hair.

“Yeah, Lou’s best in the business,” a girl next to her teased, patting her shoulder.

“Lou?” shocked, I turned to look at her. “Really?”

“Yeah?” she grinned, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. “Is that a problem?”

“No- that’s just, uh, the name of the, uh, guy I like,” I blushed, turning back to the mirror and hiding my face. “Sorry for freaking out, I just- well, sorry.”

“Oh really?” Lou laughed, continuing to shorten my hair. “Is he your- well, you know?”

“I hope so,” with my face turning a bright red, I hoped that this wouldn’t last too much longer. “He’s really cute and amazing and-”

“-and his TiMER?” she cut in, obviously not overtly interested in listening to my rambles. “Is it also going off tonight?”

“Did Nick tell you?” I asked, closing my eyes as she turned me around to get my bangs. “I don’t know. When the update set in yesterday they snatched me away and I haven’t had a chance to see him since.”

“That’s oddly romantic,” with a laugh, Lou took my top layers out of the clip and continued to snip away. “And they’re pampering you, yeah? I heard that you got a massage.”

“It was amazing. Zayn and I had to pretend to date but it was still fun.” Purring at the way she was rubbing my scalp, I let out a soft sigh. “I have no idea what the boys have planned for me tomorrow.”

“Well, Harry,” she started, fluffing my hair. “You should go ask them. I just need to blow dry and then we’re done.”

With a nod, I let her start up the blow dryer and work it over my hair. This was something I wouldn’t mind doing; the heat on my scalp was both relaxing and therapeutic. Although the noise was irritating, I didn’t mind it too much. After a brief second, the sound went off and the heat left.

“There you go, babe,” she smiled, fluffing my locks. “No product, your hair is fine with its natural bounce.”

“Thanks, Lou, I replied, standing up and letting her remove the cape. “It looks amazing.”

“Your friends have already paid, too, so you can go,” she beamed, shaking my hand while giving me a quick hug. “Let me know how it goes tomorrow, oka-”

“HARRY CLOSE YOUR EYES,” came loud, and I automatically snapped my eyelids shut, without even pausing to think about why.

“Ha-”

“Shut _up_ Louis,” came a voice I recognized as Liam’s. “Keep your eyes closed!”

“This way, Harry,” Nick’s voice demanded, taking me by my wrist and dragging me out the way to the door. My shoulder brushed against another body and I knew it was Louis; I could feel it in my bones.

“L-” I started, but felt my mouth get covered by a hand.

“Cu-” He said, but probably was cut off in the same way.

As soon as I felt the cold air around me, I opened my eyes and saw Zayn, bent over and panting into his hands while Niall was leaning against the car.

“That was too close,” the blond gasped, setting a hand over his chest and glancing at me. “You two almost saw each other.”

“The fact that you two don’t want us to means that we are soul mates, yeah?” I grinned, beginning to turn to face the window when Grimmy grabbed both sides of my face and turned me to look at him. His lips pressed against mine, catching me completely off-guard and in shock.

“Nick??” Niall exclaimed, obviously just as taken aback as I was. “What-”

“God _damnit_ Harry,” Grimmy yelled, pulling his lips from mine and furrowing his brows. “Why won’t you just forget him? You’re meeting your _SOUL MATE_ tomorrow and you keep thinking about this asshole who has been to afraid to make a move on you for over three months!”

“I-”

“You’ve been too _blind_ to see that maybe I’ve been _in love_ with you since you were _fourteen_! Where does Louis get off breaking your heart over, and over, an-”

“Nick,” Zayn said, pulling the taller boy away from me. “We need to talk.” Completely shocked, I couldn’t find the strength to move.

“Come here, Haz,” Niall mumbled, taking my hand and leading me back to the car and unlocking the back door. “I was not expecting that to happen today.”

“Did you know-”

“Yeah, he interrupted, sitting me down and sighing. “I’ve known for a while, but he made me promise not to tell you or anyone else.”

Letting out a shuddery sigh, I buried my face into the irishman’s shoulder. “I- we- I was so young, why did this-”

“Hey, Harry,” Grimmy’s voice came once again, and Niall moved away to Zayn’s side, whispering something that I couldn’t hear. “I’m sorry for going off on you like that, I shouldn’t have.”

“I never knew,” I mumbled into my hands, before feeling an arm wrap around my shoulders.

“I know, I made sure you didn’t,” he said, scooting me over and closing the door so it was just us. “It was- I mean, both of our TiMERs were fucked. I had over thirty years and you had forever- I just started thinking about how _convenient_ it would be and then I just fell for every little thing you did.”

“Nick- I can’t-”

“I know,” he cut me off with a finger on my lips and a sorrowful smile on his. “Trust me, I get it. I’m so sorry for doing this to you today, babe.”

I pressed a kiss to his cheek, feeling the tears sting my eyes before pulling away. “Can we still be friends?”

“Duh,” He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, pushing my shoulder playfully with a grin. “You’re never going to get away from me, you freak.”

“Come on you two,” Zayn mumbled, opening the car door and tugging on Nick’s sleeve. “Back to the flat.”

\----

“We’re almost there,” Zayn sighed, blowing out a long drawl of smoke. “Just three minutes.”

“You know, you should be smoking outside,” Nick hissed, taking the cigarette away from the black-haired man and dipping it in an abandoned water glass.

“Harry, this is it,” Niall grinned, tears brimming at his eyes. “Did you ever think this would happen to you?”

“Never,” I whispered, wiping the blond’s cheeks. “I literally never thought this would happen.”

“Well, it is,” Grimmy breathed, sitting next to me and holding my free hand. “You are finally meeting your soul mate.”

“Two minutes,” The black-haired man said, taking a seat in an adjacent armchair. He kept his eyes on the clock, tapping a finger against his knee for every second that went by.

“How are you feeling?” Grimmy asked, squeezing my hand gently. “Excited? Nervous?”

“Like I’m going to throw up, actually,” I mumbled, swallowing a lump in my throat. “What if- well, it’s not _guaranteed_ that you’ll like your soulmate the minute you like them. What if we hate each other?”

“You’ll end up loving each other, like everyone else,” Niall shrugged, a smile playing on his lips.

“60 seconds,” Zayn reminded, biting his lip. “Crunch time.”

Nick, still holding my hand, pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. “If you hate each other, I’ll beat him the fuck up, okay? Just say the word.”

“Thanks,” Moving my eyes to my TiMER, I couldn’t fight the smile on my lips.

0000d:00h:00m:02s

Then

0000d:00h:00m:00s

A loud chiming came from my wrist. Although it was a noise I knew well- I had, after all, written it for my dad years ago- it sounded different. It sounded like a promise, like a fulfilled dream. Tears spilled onto my cheeks, trailing down my face but not interfering with the smile there; this was it.

“Congratulations, Harry,” Zayn beamed as the sound ended. I looked up at him, before grinning at the other two on either side of me. “You have a soul mate.”


	10. Chapter 10

After I had calmed down, the boys had all decided to squeeze into Nick’s queen-sized bed. It was still that way when I woke up early the next morning- Zayn had his arms around me, holding me to his chest, while Nick was spooning me. Niall had, at some point during the night, scooted down and was laying across all of our feet.

A smile played at my lips as I squirmed my way out of the sheets. I strolled out into the front room, stretching my arms out behind me and popping my joints. The clock read 6:23, and I was surprised to see how early it actually was.

I unplugged my cell from where I had borrowed Grimmy’s charger, and immediately dialed my mother’s number. I knew she had to be awake; she had to be at work in half an hour. Pressing the phone to my ear, I listened to the dial tone three times before she picked up.

“ _Hello_?”

“Hi mum, it’s Harry,” I said into the phone, sitting on the arm of the couch.

“ _Hi honey! How are you? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for class_?”

“Actually, uh, I’m taking today off.”

“ _What? Why? Is everything okay_?”

“So, uh, long story,” I started, licking my lips and flicking my hair out of my eyes. “You know the TiMER update two days ago?”

“ _Oh my god is your TiMER working Harry_?”

“It went off last night. I’m meeting my soul mate today,” biting my lower lip, I could barely fight the grin spreading across my face. “My friends got me a haircut and a massage yesterday.”

“ _Aww, Harry-_ ”

“Are you crying, mom?”

“ _My blank baby is finally- just, I- please bring him home to me, okay_?”

“Of course! If he doesn’t like you, then he can’t be my soul mate!”

“ _Have you called Gemma? She’ll be so happy for you_!”

I checked my watch. “She’s still in New York, right? It’s barely past one A.M. there, I don’t want to wake her.”

“ _I’ll tell her after work_ ,” my mom said as I heard shuffling from down the hall. “ _Oh Harry, I’m so happy for you_!”

“I love you mom, I’ll call you later, okay?” Standing up as I heard the bedroom door open, I made a kissing noise and hung up. “H’llo?” I said, strolling down the hall to the end, poking my face into the open door.

“Watch yourself, curls,” Zayn’s voice said, before a hand pushed the back of my head against his chest. “Someone might hug you without your permission.”

Giggling, I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Why’re you up this early?”

“The bed got cold,” he shrugged, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Why are _you_ up so early?”

“I’m really excited,” I replied, biting my lip and swaying back and forth. He joined in, rolling his eyes before lifting me up and throwing me over his shoulder. “H-Hey?!”

“Come on, let’s watch the sunrise,” Zayn grinned, slapping my bum and strolling out into the hallway. He only set me down when we were on the balcony, and he sat me down on his lap. “Isn’t this beautiful?”

Silently nodding, I leaned back and rested against him, sighing contently while he wrapped his arms around my waist. We sat quietly for a bit, watching the light come up over the surrounding buildings. With a shiver, I nuzzled into Zayn’s neck.

“A- _hem_?” came a voice from just inside, and we both turned to look at Nick, who had crossed his arms and was leaning against the doorframe. “This is a cute sight.” he grinned, crossing over and flopping down in the other deck chair.

“You’re never up this early,” I teased, leaning over and squeezing his arm. “Did the cold bed get you too?”

“You guys were gone when I rolled over,” the quiffy-boy shrugged, grinning at me. “And what is with Niall? Does he do that normally?”

“He did that yesterday, yeah,” Zayn laughed, reaching for the pack on the table and lighting a cigarette. “It’s his thing, I reckon.”

“Y’re talkin’ about me out’ere?” came the irish voice, as another body stumbled into the view. “Why are you all up? It’s ungodly early.”

Nick patted his lap, and the blond stumbled over before flopping down. “You’re a cute sleeper,” the tallest teased, pressing a sloppy kiss to Niall’s cheek. “Of course we would talk about you.”

“Harry is too excited to sleep, and it was way too cold without him,” Zayn explained, grinning at the irish boy. “So what now? It’s 6:30 and we don’t have anything planned til noon.”

“What do you guys have planned?” I pouted, rolling my eyes.

“Something nice for you,” Grimmy smirked, blowing a kiss and earning a soft punch to the arm. “Seriously though, you’ll love it.”

“I really don’t like waiting,” I huffed, crossing my arms and leaning back against Zayn’s chest.

“And I don’t like being away from Liam so long, but we all have our sacrifices,” The black-haired boy said, blowing a long drawl of smoke into the air. “It’ll be worth the wait.”

“You’ll cry, I promise,” Niall teased, leaning over closer and scratching his bare chest.

“Why is that a good thing?” laughing, I rolled my eyes and stood up. “C’mon, I’ll make us breakfast.”

“I warn you,” Nick said. “I only have pancake mix.”

\----

Stepping out of the warm shower into the cold bathroom air, I immediately put a towel around my waist and drew a heart in the condensation on the mirror.

Knocking at the door hurried me out, and I was quickly spun into the bedroom by Zayn. He sat me down on the bed and started a hairdryer.

“How was your shower, babe?” he grinned, drying my locks one chunk at a time. “We have a really nice suit to put you in.” He turned off the machine and started brushing my curls.

“A suit? What exactly are you planning for me?” I sighed, leaning into the touch and adjusting the towel.

“You’re going to love it,” he grinned, kissing my temple and pushing my curls out of the way before spraying it with hairspray. “And you’re going to look amazing.”

“If you say so,” I shrugged, closing my eyes as he sprayed again. “This is on your shoulders if I look dumb.”

“You won’t,” came Grimmy’s voice from the doorframe, and I opened my eyes to look at him. “And your soul mate is going to love it.”

Batting my eyes, I bit my lip in excitement. “I really hope so.”

“C’mon, let’s get you dressed,” Zayn nodded, setting down the hair care supplies and standing up.

Nick reached into his closet for a large suit bag, setting it down next to me. “First, we get you in the underwear,” he grinned, unzipping the bag and pulling out a rose-colored pair of panties.

“Those are _see-through_ ,” I gaped, grabbing the undies and stretching them. “Why- I- you expect me to _wear_ these?”

“And you will,” Grimmy laughed, pulling a really beautiful suit out of the bag. “The sooner you get them on, the sooner we can leave.”

“What time is it?” Zayn asked as I pulled the panties up and dropped my towel.

“Just past eleven,” Nick replied, helping me up and handing me deodorant. “You have to hurry, it’s a 30 minute drive to our destination.”

“This is- wow,” I breathed, running my fingers over the suit. The fabric was soft, and the threads were perfectly sewn in. “I can only imagine how expensive this was.”

“Get it on,” Zayn smiled, slapping my bum. “It will look even better.”

Nick held the suit jacket while I took the pure white button up and put it on. I pulled the trousers on next, and was pleasantly surprised when they were snug up against my leg; I much preferred skinny pants to any other type.

“Wow,” Zayn said incredulously as Grimmy helped me get the jacket on. “You- wow, Harry. Your soulmate is going to love this.” He handed me a tie, but I furrowed my brow at it.

“Ties aren’t really my thing,” tracing the fabric through my fingers, I shrugged. “I dunno.” With a quick glance around the room, my eyes landed on a clump of red fabric on the dresser. “What about that?”

“My bowtie? I wore that for my halloween costume- you want to wear that?” Grimmy rolled his eyes, but handed it to me.

“It’s perfect,” I whispered, tying it around my neck. The color reminded me of Louis; it was his favorite color, after all. We had made a promise to be there when the other zeroed out, and if this is the only way he’ll be there, then so be it. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

“What am I missing?” Nick asked as Zayn just shook his head fondly. “Seriously, what am I missing?”

“Red is Louis’s favorite color,” Came the irish voice from the doorway. “Of course Harry would want that.”

“Of course,” Grimmy laughed, reaching over and grabbing Niall’s arm. “How does he look?”

“If I was gay, I would definitely go for him,” the blond nodded, stepping closer to us. “Your soulmate is going to love this.”

“C’mon, you said it was a half-hour, right?” I blushed, pushing by them and walking into the front room. “Let’s get there early.”

They followed me out, and helped me put my shoes on. “You’re going to cry,” Niall laughed, kissing my cheek and helping me up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only a few more chapters left. I can't decide whether to put in a smut scene or not, so tell me what you think I should do?


	11. Chapter 11

As I got in Nick’s car, Zayn gently wrapped a blindfold around my eyes.

“You don’t get to know where we’re going,” the Bradford boy whispered in my ear, pressing a kiss to my temple and pulling away. “Niall will hold your hand to comfort you, if you want-”

“Do I _have_ to?” the blond boy groaned, although it was obvious he was kidding.

“Fine,” I huffed, turning my nose up in his direction. “I don’t want you to anyways.” The door closed beside me and I felt the car start as Niall’s hand gripped mine, lacing our fingers together.

“Are you okay back there? Comfortable?” Grimmy’s voice came from the seat in front of me, and I just nodded.

“He nodded,” Niall said. “Because he doesn’t realize that you really can’t see him.” I blushed, but I stuck my tongue out at the blond. “He’s being really cute over here.”

We started laughing, and ended up making small chat for the rest of the car ride.

“We’re here,” Nick said, parking the car. The doors opened in the front, and I felt my seatbelt unbuckle and cross my chest.

“Where is _here_?” I sighed, letting one of the boys help me out of the car. “I feel really silly, guys,” with a blush spreading across my cheeks, I bit my lip.

“Well, you look amazing,” Zayn laughed, gripping my hand and pressing a kiss to my cheek. I felt Nick’s hand grab my other hand, both of them pulling me forward.

There was obvious whispering behind me as we shuffled through the snow. Furrowing my brows embarrassedly, I felt another hand, probably Niall’s, rub my back.

“Keep quiet,” another voice, that I couldn’t quite place, said to me as we went inside a building. The room, previously murmuring, went completely silent as Zayn- Nick’s hand left mine barely a moment previous- helped me up some small stairs.

“Stand here, Harry,” the Bradford boy commanded, removing his hand from mine and setting it on my shoulder.

Footsteps came up across from me, and I shuddered with anticipation. Zayn’s hand left my shoulder, took mine, and put it in someone else’s. My heart was beating so loud I could swear that the other person could hear it. I opened my mouth to say something, but my throat was so dry I couldn’t make a noise.

“Take off the blindfolds!” came the anonymous voice from earlier, standing just to my left. The knot on the back of my head was undone, and the fabric fell from my eyes. Blinking my eyes twice to get used to the light, I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing.

A familiar chiming filled the room as my eyes met pure blue ones, wide with surprise. I started to tear up as I, still speechless, mouthed “ _Louis_ ”. Using my free hand to cover my mouth, I let the tears roll down my cheeks as I took in what he was wearing.

A pure black suit, much like the one I was wearing, with a skinny black tie fell on his shoulders. My eyes traced up his neck to his face, where he had a shocked smile on his lips and tears in his own eyes. His hair was slicked back, opening his face up and brightening his eyes.

He bit his lip, eyeing me over with a bewildered look on his face. “ _wow_ ,” he mouthed, gripping my hand tighter.

Someone clearing their throat to my left took our attention off of each other. We both turned to look, and, to our surprise, saw a priest. I quickly glanced around, and was startled at everyone who was there; Louis’ family, my family, and all of our friends were sitting in the pews of a large church.

“Who gives this man?” The priest asked, gesturing towards me.

“His mother and I do,” came a voice, causing me to turn and look at my dad, standing up from his seat. My hand dropped from my face, and was immediately taken by Louis’.

“Why am I the bride?” I whispered to Lou, who just gave me an incredulous look, as if to say _does it really matter_.

“Dearly beloved,” the priest began, causing us both to quiet down. “We are gathered here together in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together these men in Holy Matrimony.”

“ _Marriage_ ,” Louis breathed, barely loud enough for me to hear him. I shrugged one shoulder, the pure smile never leaving my face.

“This is an honourable estate, instituted of God, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church,” he continued, gesturing between us and the people in the audience. “which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence and first miracle that he wrought in Cana of Galilee, and is commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men.”

My eyes locked onto the blue ones directly across from me, and although my vision was slightly blurred from the tears, I was convinced his never left mine.

“And therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate, these two persons present come now to be joined.”

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I was only barely listening at this point; it really didn’t matter whether the marriage was fancy or not. All that mattered was that I would be spending the rest of my life with Louis.

“If any man can show just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together,” the priest said, looking past us into the crowd. “Let him now speak, or forever hold his peace.”

Almost in synchronization, Louis and I both turned to look into the pews. I saw my mother crying, and was pleasantly surprised to see Gemma as well, although she should’ve been in New York. My eyes traced over to the other side, where Louis’ mother and sisters were gathered.

“In that case, we can start the vows,” the priest smiled, turning to Louis. “Louis William Tomlinson, will you have this man to be your wedded groom, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honour him, and keep him in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, keep faithful only to him, so long as you both shall live?”

Squeezing my hand, Louis said, “I do.”

Turning to me, the priest continued. “Harry Edward Styles, will you have this man to be your wedded groom, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honour him, and keep him in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, keep faithful only to him, so long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” I sobbed, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.

“Please repeat after me,” he nodded, turning back to Louis. “I, Louis Tomlinson,”

“I, Louis Tomlinson,”

“Take you, Harry Styles,”

“Take you, Harry Styles,”

“To be my wedded Groom,”

“To be my wedded Groom.”

“To have and hold from this day forward,”

“To have and hold from this day forward,”

“For better, For worse, For Richer, For poorer,”

“For better, For worse, For Richer, For poorer,”

“In sickness and in health,”

“In sickness and in health,”

“To love and to cherish till death do us part.”

“To love and to cherish till death do us part,” Louis finished, taking one hand away from mine and brushing a tear from my cheek, before returning his hand to mine.

“Now you,” the priest smiled. “I, Harry Styles,”

“I, H-Harry Styles,”

“Take you, Louis Tomlinson,”

“Take you, Louis T-Tomlinson,”

“To be my wedded Groom,”

“To be my wedded G-Groom.”

“To have and hold from this day forward,”

“To hol- To have and hold from this day forward,”

“For better, For worse, For Richer, For poorer,”

“For better, For worse, For Richer, For poorer,”

“In sickness and in health,”

“In sickness and in health,”

“To love and to cherish till death do us part.”

“To love and to cherish till d-death do us part,” I stammered, my voice weak. This was all so surreal, and I wasn’t completely sure it was real.

“May we have the rings?” The priest asked, and I watched Nick, who was apparently standing behind me the entire time, walk around and hand two pure gold bands to the Minister. I caught his eye, and he simply winked.

“Louis, please place the ring on Harry’s left hand and repeat: With this Ring I thee wed, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Louis nodded, taking his hands from mine and quickly wiping a tear off his own face. He grabbed one of the bands, inhaling sharply before taking my left hand and saying, “With this Ring I thee wed, In the Name of the Father, and of the-” he looked at the priest briefly- ”Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” He slipped the ring onto my finger, before returning his eyes to mine.

“Harry, please place the ring onto Louis’ left hand and repeat: With this Ring I thee wed, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

I breathed deeply, and, shakily, grabbed the other gold ring and, grabbing his right hand at first, rolled my eyes. Taking his left hand, I looked him straight in the eye and whispered, “With this Ring, I wed t- _I THEE WED_ ,” I stammered, dropping my head to look at his finger. “In the Name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

I stood straight up and looked Louis in the eye as the priest said, “I now Pronounce you Man and Man. You may now kiss the groom.”

The caramel-haired boy reached forward, stroking my cheek as he pulled me forward. Our lips met quickly, connecting for the first time. I could taste his cinnamon chapstick, losing myself in the moment. His fingers laced in my hair as mine held around his shoulders.

I had been waiting for this for such a long time, and I was amazed that it was finally happening. Louis began to pull away, but I pushed my head forward for one last peck before separating. The church was filled with the sound of people cheering, and, still looking at the blue-eyed boy- my husband- with a look of amazement, I heard Nick whisper, “You’re supposed to walk down the aisle now.” Liam obviously whispered something to Louis, and we both turned and, hands entwined, strolled past all of our friends and family.

As soon as we were outside, I noticed a white limo outside of the church. “Oh Jesus Christ,” I mumbled, letting Louis lead me straight to the vehicle. A man- the chauffeur, I reckoned- had the rear door open for us.

“Liam told me that it will take us straight to reception?” Louis shrugged, scooting into the seat. “I can’t believe they planned all this in 24 hours.”

Sitting next to him, I smiled, pecking his lips once more. He caught my face, pulling me in for another long kiss.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter before the epilogue. Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments, and I hope to see you guys in some of my future stories. (Oh. NSFW warning)

The Limo dropped us off at a beautiful building, lined with windows and full of circular tables. With tears in my eyes, Louis and I took our seats at the front of the room, as everyone else arrived. Our parents took a table together, closest to ours, and the room filled up from the front to the back.

Liam, Zayn, Niall, and Nick took seats at our table, completing our make-shift ‘wedding party’. They were all wearing black suits, with little red flowers clipped to their jackets.

“Surprised?” The blond grinned, punching my shoulder lightly. “Told’ya you would cry.”

“I’m gonna make a toast,” Liam said, standing up and tapping his empty glass with the fork. “Uh, Thanks everyone for coming to our last-minute wedding for the lovely Harry and Louis.” He paused for clapping, before continuing. “I’m Liam, and I’ve known Louis since we were little kids. We’ve been inseparable since the second grade, and he is literally my best friend in the world. I remember every time Louis has got a crush on somebody- let me tell you, some of them were _bad_ \- but he’s never treated anybody the way he treats Harry.”

I turned to look at my husband- _geesh_ , that was weird to say- who was blushing. He glanced at me, grinned a little, before turning back to Liam.

“I know that Louis has never been happier than when he spends time with Harry, and I admit to being a little jealous. Today I realized there was no reason to be. Harry is, truly, Lou’s soul mate. To Harry and Louis.” He raised his glass once toward the crowd, then once to us.

Liam sat down, and Lou quickly pulled him into a hug. “Love you, mate,” he mumbled, wiping a tear from his eye.

“My turn,” Grimmy grinned, slapping my back as he stood. “Hey there. My name’s Nick. I’ve been Harry’s babysitter since he was just beginning school, and I’ve got both a ton of cute stories and a ton of mean stories. Let me start by saying that Harry has always been, and will probably always be, the little brother I never had.” He rubbed my shoulder, smiling down at me before winking once. “Once I went off to college, I was sure that I would never see him again. To my surprise, he came to London and we met again by pure chance- something I’m thanking God for every single day. Louis and I, well, we never got along. I did things I regret-” Nick shrugged at my groom- “Sorry. Harry brought us together, and I like to think we’re at least on good terms.”

“We are,” Louis whispered, nodding slightly.

“I would do anything for Harry,” Nick continued, turning back to face the crowd. “And if it means being friends with this guy, so be it. Harry’s been nothing but loyal, despite the fact that I once made him choose between us. Louis called me up immediately, and talked to me for no reason other than to forgive Harry.” He set his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “Louis was so in love with Harry that he was willing to talk to someone he hated. Harry, actually, was spending all of yesterday talking about how much he wanted Louis to be his one; while slightly annoying, it was still quite adorable.”

I punched his side jokingly, rolling my eyes at him. “Hurry up, jerk,” I whispered.

“They’re perfect for each other. I’ll be the first to say it: I wish they had met sooner.” He raised his glass towards everyone before saying quietly towards me, “Sorry for yesterday.”

We all clapped, and he sat down. I squeezed his forearm, letting him know that it was okay. We shared a quick smile, before a waiter came to drop off our dinners; burgers and fries.

“We didn’t have a lot of time,” Niall explained. “They were the only ones willing to work on this short notice.”

“It’s perfect,” I laughed, picking up the longest fry off my plate and offering it to Louis. He did the same thing, and we took a bite synchronized.

After the dinner- well, more like supper; it was only around one- a man that I didn’t recognize whispered something to Nick before heading over to a sound system.

“It’s time for the first dance,” Grimmy said, taking both of our attention.

“Uh,” Louis blinked. “I’m really not sure what that means.”

“You two dance,” Zayn rolled his eyes. “Then the next one, you dance with your mothers.”

Nodding, I stood up, took Lou’s hand, and came around our table to the dance floor. Conversation quieted down as the music started; we gave each other the _I can’t believe this look_.

He set his hand on my waist, silently commanding that he would lead. My hand sat on his shoulder, and we gripped our free hands as we started moving.

“I don’t know how to dance,” I hissed, letting him move me around the dance floor. Lou rolled his eyes, pressing a kiss to my lips quickly.

“I’m never gonna believe this is my life,” he mumbled, moving me around the dance floor. It was choppy, hesitant movements, and we were sure everyone in the room could tell, but we really didn’t mind.

The song ended, and we pulled away, blush spread across our cheeks. Reluctantly letting go of each other’s hands, I walked over to where our families were sitting.

“What are you doing here, Gems?” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around her in a hug. “You should be in New York, yeah?”

“Dad sent his private jet to get me,” she grinned, squeezing my shoulders. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Rolling my eyes, I moved my arms from Gemma to my mom, helping her up. “May I have this dance?” I teased, wiping the tears from her face.

“Oh Harry,” she sobbed, holding me at an arm’s length away and looking over me. “When did you grow up?”

“Beats me,” I laughed, pulling her closer. “Let’s dance, Mum.” Taking her out to the dance floor, I was immediately relieved when the song was faster paced; this I could do.

Around an hour later, I made my way up to my seat, flopping down and watching the crowd dancing to some American song. Everyone was having such a great time, and I still wasn’t believing that it was real; in forty-eight hours, I had gone from being alone forever to being married to the man of my dreams. I located Louis in the crowd, giggling at the way he was dancing with Gemma(really? the _Grease_ shoulder shimmy dance?).

An arm wrapped around my shoulder, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Jay sit down with me. “Hey, Harry,” she grinned, pulling me close.

“Hi, mum-in-law,” I teased, leaning my head on her shoulder and smiling.

“How are you feeling?” she whispered. Shrugging, I let her continue. “I remember when Louis came home and cried to me about everything; he was upset about his TiMER, yeah, but he was more upset that you were angry at him.”

“Really?” I breathed, watching the caramel-haired boy slow-dance (despite the fast music) with my own mother.

“He wouldn’t shut up about you,” Jay laughed. “Louis just wanted you to forgive him- and then suddenly, on Christmas Morning, it went from _harry hates me_ to _harry is perfect_.”

“I called him.”

“I figured,” she kissed my temple, squeezing my shoulder lightly. “His sisters and I, well, we wanted to meet you to see if you really were as amazing as he said you were.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” with a grin, I laughed at the look on her face.

“You were everything he said you were,” came another voice to the other side of me. Turning to look, I grinned as Lottie pulled out the seat and sat down. “I think we all knew immediately that you guys were going to end up together.”

Blushing profoundly, I bit my lip and directed my gaze to Louis, who had been, at some point, picked up by Nick and was flung over his shoulder. “Really?”

“The TiMER just made it official,” Jay nodded, also watching her son. “You guys would’ve come together at some point, even without it.”

“I love him,” I breathed, my heart fluttering at the smile on my groom’s face; even from the distance, I could see just how pure it was.

“Good, cause you’re stuck with him,” Lottie shrugged, standing up and messing up my hair. “And I gained a cool new sister. Today is pretty good.”

Rolling my eyes as she walked away, I leaned against my new mother-in-law. “Thanks, Jay.”

“For what?”

“Giving birth to the most perfect person ever,” smiling, I kissed her cheek and stood up. “Let’s dance, Mum,” I grinned, helping her up and leading her to the floor.

“No you don’t!” Zayn grinned, grabbing my shoulder. “Sorry, Miss Tomlinson, but I have something planned for this guy.”

With a wave to Jay, I let my roommate take me into an adjacent room. As soon as the door closed, I let out a breath of air.

“You alright?” he asked, digging through a plastic bag left on the table.

“Yes,” I started, but then shook my head. “No. I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

“Yeah, I could imagine,” Zayn agreed, pulling out a garter and a bouquet of fake flowers. “It’s almost time for the toss, so you gotta get this on.”

“Wh- I- what?”

“C’mon Haz,” he rolled his eyes, then pat the table. “Sit. I’ll help you get it on.”

Sitting on the edge of the table, I put my right leg up on a chair. Zayn took the elastic band (red in color) and, taking off my shoe, slid it up my leg, and let it rest on my upper thigh.

“This is really tight,” I mumbled, letting him put my shoe back on.

“Yeah, well, it’s gotta stay on long enough for Lou to take it off,” he shrugged, taking my hand and standing me up. “C’mon. Let’s go do the toss, then you guys can cut the cake.”

“O-okay,” nodding shakily, I took the bouquet from him and followed Zayn out into the main room again. Louis was standing at the front of the room, chatting with Liam. _Somebody_ (Nick, I would recognize that voice anywhere) let out a loud catcall, getting everyone’s attention onto me. My face heated up as the caramel-haired boy just shook his head incredulously, before making some offhand comment to Liam.

“All the single girls, c’mon over!” Zayn yelled, waving his hand at the dance floor. “You get to throw the flowers, Harry,” he said quietly to me, and I thanked him.

There weren’t many girls- mainly just our sisters, save for a few girls that we had met in our classes- but I turned my back to them and tossed the bouquet anyways. Glancing over my shoulder, I was elated to see Eleanor- a girl in Lou’s drama class- catch the flowers. People were clapping, and I blew her a kiss.

“Now for the men,” Liam grinned, patting Louis’ back and whispering something to him.

The caramel-haired man blushed, and he bit his lip before pulling up a chair. “I guess this is where I take this off,” he shrugged, gesturing for me to sit down. As I did so, he lifted my right leg and trailed his fingers around my upper thigh.

I bit my lip, watching as he slowly pulled the elastic down my thigh, pausing briefly to kiss me before taking it all off in one motion. He raised it in the air as if a war trophy, before throwing it over his shoulder.

Watching, I started clapping happily as Zayn grabbed it right out of the air. He gave me this look as if to say _I just gave this to you_ , but was cut off by a kiss from his boyfriend passionately.

Louis smiled at his best friend, but quickly turned to me and whispered, “ _god_ , I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kissing him softly, I stood up and gripped his hand in mine. “Time to cut the cake, Husband of mine.”

He shook his head and said, “This is unreal,” before walking with me over to where the cake- a plain, one layer cake with the words _happy marriage_ written out in red frosting- was sat on a table.

Niall approached us with a cake knife, and put it in our hands. Louis took it in his left hand, and I took it in my right.

“Ready?” he grinned, readying the knife at the edge of the frosting.

“Ready,” I nodded, and, in one motion, we cut the cake in half. People cheered, and we gave each other mischievous grins. I took a handful of the cake and smashed it in his face, and was immediately covered by the same.

Blindly reaching for Louis, I managed to grab the side of his face and pull him in for a kiss. He tasted like cake and champagne, and I’m sure I tasted similarly.

“Vanilla,” he breathed, wiping the frosting off my face. A chuckle escaped my lips as I kissed his lips briefly, licking the frosting off. “My favorite flavor.”

“Really?” I whispered heatedly. “Cause you’re mine.”

\----

The hotel room door was slammed shut behind me, and I was immediately pinned up against it. Louis’ lips covered mine, his hands taking off my jacket and dropping it to the ground.

My hands tangled in his hair, the need to kiss him stronger than the need to breathe. I trailed my fingers down the back of his neck, pulling at the lapel of his suit jacket. He dropped his hands from where they had been pinning me against the door, and I stripped the fabric off his shoulders.

As it hit the floor, I felt his lips trail down my jaw. A moan escaped my lips, and I involuntarily thrust my hips up. I bunched the fabric of his white button-down between my fingers, pulling him closer to my body.

“Fuck,” Louis breathed, unbuttoning my shirt without undoing the bow tie. His soft lips moved over my collarbones, laying kiss after kiss before pulling away suddenly.

“H-huh?” I whispered, noticing his eyebrows furrowing.

“Who gave you these?” he demanded, his finger tracing one of the love bites on my chest. “Who the _fuck_ touched _my_ Harry?”

“Nick thou-” I started, but was cut off by Louis smashing his mouth against mine, angrily biting down on my lower lip. His hands gripped the back of my legs, using the door as a stability point to pick me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, locking our lips as he carried me to the bed.

My back hit the mattress roughly as he threw me against the sheets, his eyes full of a mix of rage and lust. Blinking a few times, I bit my lip in surprise. Louis ripped his shirt open, one of the buttons actually flying off, and tossed it onto the floor.

“Can’t believe he actually _fuckin_ touched you,” he hissed, straddling my lap and pulling the bow tie off. His teeth replaced the fabric, sucking a dark mark onto my neck.

“A-ah,” I gasped, gripping the sheets on either side of my body. “L-Lou- I- oh- _virgin_.”

He pulled away from my neck, lifting himself up to stare at me. His pupils were blown with lust, but still full of wonder at the same time. With a nod, he leaned over, kissed my lips softly, and said “Yeah- yeah, I’ll be gentle. Sorry.”

Much calmer than a second previously, Louis traced his fingers over my stomach, fingering my waistband. He unbuttoned my pants, slowly moving the fabric down my thighs. Once they were pooled around my knees, he whispered, “Fuck,” before fingering the sheer panties.

I bucked my hips, silently begging for him to touch. He stripped the pants off in one motion, taking my shoes with them. His mouth trailed down my chest, pausing only briefly at the waistband before mouthing over my bulge.

“God, fuck, Lou,” I begged, tangling my fingers in his hair. My hips thrusted upwards as he drug his tongue across the fabric, earning himself a loud moan.

Louis sat up, and stripped his own pants off. I had seen him in only his underwear before, but this- this was different. My heart was racing as his boxers were drug down his body, revealing his cock, red and throbbing.

“Fuck,” I breathed, eyeing him lustfully. Chewing on my lip, I palmed myself through my underwear as he grabbed some lube and a condom from his discarded pants. “Where the _fuck_ were you keeping that?”

“What, my dick or the supplies?” Louis joked, slapping my hand away from my crotch. “Liam made sure I had some before we left the reception- just in case.”

“Fuck,” left my mouth once more as he took my underwear off slowly, obviously short for breath as my cock opened to the air. I covered my face with one hand, embarrassed to have him see me like this.

“Wow,” Louis mumbled, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. “You’re _beautiful_.”

Blinking up at him, I let a small smile cross my lips. He  grinned, before trailing love bites down my neck. I groaned, subconsciously lifting my leg around his waist.

“Fuck, Harry, I want you _so bad_ ,” he mumbled, biting hard on my collar bone. Agreeing silently with him, I dug my fingers into his back, pulling him closer.

“Do it, god Lou-”

“N-no, I need to open you up, fuck,” Louis groaned, pushing himself up and pulling himself away. He opened the lube, uncapping it with a pop.

I wet my lips, watching him drizzle the liquid onto his fingers. Louis spread it evenly, before saying, “Can you hold your knees for me, babe?”

Holding onto the back of my thighs, I lifted them up to my chest and exhaled sharply. His index finger circled my hole, teasing the entrance before pushing in.

“A-ah!” I cried, slamming my eyes shut in surprise.

“Shh,” Lou breathed, retracting his finger to the very tip and kissing my forehead. “It’ll feel really weird at first, babe, but it gets better,” he promised, pumping his finger slowly.

Slowly adjusting, my body began to roll with his movements, and he seemed to understand. A second finger breached my hole, pausing for my sake.

“You’re so tight,” he whispered, kissing my inner thigh. I nodded, wincing as he spread his fingers, stretching me open. While not the most uncomfortable thing I had ever felt, it was certainly something new.

My legs were beginning to shake from a mix of tension and anticipation. Louis added a third finger, pushing all the way to the knuckle and earning a gasp.

“L-Louis-”

“Yeah, yeah,” he cut me off, pulling his fingers out and ripping the condom open.

“N-no condom,” I mumbled, reaching for his hand. “I wanna feel you.”

“I’m clean,” he breathed, pouring lube into his palm before pumping his cock.

“Me too,” readjusting my grip on my legs, I bit my lip and nodded. “I’m clean, yeah.”

“Relax,” Louis said, pressing the tip of his cock to my hole. “It’s gonna hurt if you don’t.”

Nodding, I closed my eyes and let him push the head in. He stopped to let me adjust, his mouth making noises that caused knots in my stomach.

“Fuck _Harry_ ,” he groaned,taking my legs from me and wrapping them around his waist. Slowly bottoming out, Louis let out a quiet groan.

With my eyes still closed, I could feel the pain give way to something else; It was like no pleasure I had ever felt before. I breathed, “Louis, please.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, slowly moving in and out. I let out a long streak of short moans, digging my fingers into his shoulderblades. “God Harry, you feel- ugh, _so good_.”

His thrusts became faster and faster, filling my hole and pulling out almost to the tip. I opened my eyes when he brushed a bundle of nerves; Louis’ blue eyes connected with mine almost immediately. He leaned over my chest, pressing kisses into my skin.

I almost felt like I was going to burst; the pressure in my bum was both great and wrong. “Fuck, Lou,” tracing my fingers from his back to his hair, I messed the locks up from how they had been slicked all night. “Right there- yeah- yeah-”

“Here?” he whispered, lifting my hips to hit the angle better. “Right here.”

Letting out a loud cry, I felt my entire body tense up. Louis reminded me to relax, and simply kept thrusting.

“I’m- uhn- I’m gonna-” I warned, although I was surprised that it was so soon; I hadn’t had any actual stimulation to my cock yet.

“Fuck,” he breathed, reaching forward and pumping me only twice before I came. Involuntarily, I tightened my hole, causing him to moan. “HarryHarry _Harry_ ,” Louis hissed, slowing down slightly. “Relax.”

Letting myself calm down, I felt him speed up again, chasing his own orgasm. All of a sudden it was too much; I was over-stimulated, feeling him fill me up with every thrust.

“Louis-” I whined, scraping my nails down his back. “Louis, ah-”

“God Harry, I’m so close,” Louis hissed, taking my nipple into his mouth and sucking. Dropping my hand, I coated my index finger in my own cum before reaching it around and circling his own hole. “Fuck, Harry- Ah!”

His thrusts became shuddery as I pushed my finger in, using the uncomfortable angle to press up against his bundle of nerves.

“Harry, I’m c-” he started, but was unable to finish the sentence as he shuddered to a stop. Moaning my name, the caramel-haired boy set his head down on my chest, taking a second to breathe.

“Fuck, I love you.”

 


	13. Epilogue

Many years later, Darcy Tomlinson was sitting in her parent’s study, holding her wrist out. One of her fathers, Harry, was about to apply her TiMER for the first time; His husband, Louis, had to hold the curly-haired man’s hand steady.

“Ready, D?” Louis asked, using his free hand to brush his fourteen year old daughter’s hair.

“Yeah,” she nodded, biting her lip in anticipation. “Does it hurt?”

“Like getting your ears pierced,” Harry replied, exhaling once. “Three, two-” Ka- _CHINK_ \- “Done.”

She quickly pulled her hand back to her chest, whining at the pain. Breathing out once, her dad set down the TiMER ‘gun’ and sat himself on the couch next to her.

3543d:03h:12m:54s

Louis quickly did the math on his fingers, squinting for a second before saying, “Ten years.”

“What?” Darcy pouted, leaning back against the couch. “That’s so far away.”

“Yeah, well,” the caramel-haired father shrugged, rubbing his daughter’s back. “It’s not always a fairy tale.”

“You know, your dad wasn’t even supposed to be my soul mate,” Harry grinned, helping her up.

“What do you mean?” she mumbled, following her dads upstairs to her bedroom.

“Well,” the curly-haired boy grinned, tucking her into her bed. “Just over 35 years ago, Grampa Des was in his basement, creating a little invention called the TiMER…”

 


End file.
